Family Life
by Aspire2B
Summary: A collection of oneshots centered on Shikamaru and Temari's lives post chapter 699. Contains some Shikadai
1. Baby Nara

Taking a step back from arranging a final cushion on the window seat, Temari wiped her brow and smiled triumphantly. The walls had been painted a soft green and matching curtains adorned the sliding doors that opened up onto the Nara forest. In the corner, a mobile swung, small deer prancing above a wooden crib. Inside the bassinet a soft blanket embellished with fawns, a gift from Yoshino, was perfectly folded and placed with care.

"This room is so green we might as well put his crib outside in the forest," a voice drawled from behind. She jumped a little, having not expected him to be up at the crack of dawn. He usually slept until the sun was high in the afternoon sky.

"You can thank your team mate for that," she quipped. Not fully awake yet, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and walked leisurely towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and inspected the room more closely.

"If someone hadn't told Ino we were having a boy I doubt she would have set up shop in our home and painted the entire nursery," he smirked.

She tried to be angry with him but the news was still too fresh. They were going to have a little boy! Temari was five months into her pregnancy and at her last appointment the medic had given the couple the opportunity to know the sex. They had discussed the topic many times and had agreed that they wanted to be surprised.

Shikamaru had explained that it would save them from having to deal with troublesome friends and relatives who would try to drag him out shopping. However, when the moment of truth came, Shikamaru politely said "No thanks" while Temari had hurriedly exclaimed "Yes!"

Although he had tried to feign disappointment over their broken agreement, she had plainly seen the gleam of pride in his eyes and how the corner of his mouth had twitched upwards betraying him.

They had quickly told Yoshino who, despite Shikamaru's constant claims that her mother in-law was a terrifying force in human skin, melted into tears. The couple had drastically underestimated the Nara matriarch's ability to keep such news private.

It was hardly a day before Temari was approached by friends and strangers alike in the village who congratulated her on producing a male heir for the future Nara clan head.

* * *

"You should get your facts straight. It was your mother who sold us out."

Encircling her arms around his neck she looked straight into his eyes for an honest opinion. "Do you not like the room?"

Temari could almost see Shikamaru back peddling and trying to find a quick way to mend the damage. She almost laughed but she couldn't blame him for his reaction. The last week or so she could attest to being slightly more...emotional than usual.

"No, no, I never said I didn't like it," he protested.

She chuckled at his wide eyes before her own got large with wonder as the baby gave a strong kick. Their close embrace had allowed Shikamaru to feel it as well. Temari had grown accustomed to the light airy fluttering in her abdomen but this kicking was new. Her husband appeared to be in a state of shock.

"Well that's good because he likes it, so we're not changing it." They shared a heartfelt smile before he pulled her towards the window seat.

"Are we just going to keep calling it 'him'?"he questioned, hands exploring the expanse of her stomach as they sat with Temari leaning against his chest.

She had an almost embarrassingly long list of potential names in her mind. Secretly, she had started reading Hinata's baby name books before she herself was even pregnant.

Even her brothers had put in their own two cents. She knew Kankuro's suggestions would never get Shikamaru's approval but she had to see the look on his face when she offered,

"Kankuro Jr.?"

"No." There wasn't even a second of hesitation. Her fit of laughter awarded her with a particularly painful hit from the baby. Sucking in a breath, she winced,

"Okay, definitely not that. Uncles will be having no say in the naming process. So, in all honesty now, what do you like?"

"Well, it is family tradition that a boy's name begins with 'Shika'," he mused lost in thought, "but I also was thinking of paying some sort of respect to Asuma."

"Mm..."

"But you are the one who will be –

"Pushing a small human being out of me?"

He nodded, eyes already showing some sort of apology for the inevitable. Caressing the bump, Temari pondered her husband's words.

She knew it was not so much the tradition of the Nara family as the loss of his father that made him so attached to the idea of 'Shika'. Truthfully, from the moment she found out she was having a baby she had envisioned Shikamaru coddling a little pineapple head Shika – (insert something here).

"What has your mother had to say?" she asked, trying to delay her response. Judging by the aggravated groan, Temari suspected nothing good.

"Take your pick of Ryuu, Masaru or Ren." She could hardly believe her mother in-law would suggest such horrendous names. In fact, she was sure Yoshino had been pulling her son's leg.

Ryuu meant dragon. Masaru wasn't as bad it meant victory. But Ren?! A water lily was not something she wanted associated with her son. She could already see him being pummeled in the academy school yard.

"All of those are horrible. Your mother must not want to influence our decision making, how sweet of her."

"You're stalling," he accused.

"Well...I do like Daichi," it was a strong name meaning impressive, grand first son. "But tradition also means a lot to me and I wouldn't want him feeling ostracized from the Nara because his name didn't start with 'Shika'," she teased. "What about Shikadai?"

Looking into his brown eyes for affirmation she felt a pang of worry when the corners began to crinkle in what she feared was disgust or worse laughter.

"Shikadai," he said softly, as if the boy were in his arms.

In that moment, the nursery was filled with such a serene peace that they both knew any name spoken after would feel wrong. "It's perfect." Turning back towards him, the couple shared a kiss, solidifying this moment in their memories. Sunlight was trickling through the curtains outside, lighting up the green room.

"Are you sure you're okay with not having your sensei's name represented in some way?" she questioned, green eyes earnest.

"Tem, it's like I said. There's not going to be a better name."A flicker of some emotion crossed his eyes. In a move all too familiar, Temari sighed as his hands were brought up into 'thinking position'.

"After all that you're going to change what you said?"

"No, but I think Asuma for the second –

In a move much too quick, Shikamaru had thought, for a pregnant woman. Temari's fist collided with his shoulder and he toppled over onto the floor.

"We will only be discussing number two if my body is not wrecked after this one here," she huffed.

From the ground he grunted before lifting himself up and extending a hand to help her off the window seat.

"Also," she continued, entwining her fingers with his,"the next one will definitely be a girl."


	2. Best Birthday Ever

The front door slammed shut with a bang, alerting the whole street that she was home. He grinned while putting the finishing touches onto their surprise dinner. There was no way he could have done all of this without Naruto's help. The Hokage had gladly given his good friend the night off work to celebrate the occasion.

Shikamaru was not a chef by any means, but the assortment of traditional Suna curries in front of him actually smelled pretty good and would no doubt get a pass from his wife. Hopefully she wouldn't assign him to kitchen duty after this; that would be troublesome. From the corner of his eye, he saw a black sandal get chucked down the hall.

"Rough day?"

Her answering groan made him laugh. Temari sat on the floor, wincing, as she rubbed her feet. Feeling benevolent, he fetched her thrown shoes and put them in the closet.

"If I have to talk with another old, arrogant feudal lord we will have a political problem on our hands because I'm going to blow that person through the wall of Hokage tower!"

He had learned that, at times like these, the best thing to do was nod silently."Of all the days to give me the most temperamental and snobbish one of the bunch, it had to be today," she huffed. Slowly, he reached out his hands and began to rub her shoulders. Temari flinched initially at the unexpected contact but quickly melted into his touch.

"It's an outrage," he agreed with a lopsided smirk. "Hopefully your birthday can still be salvaged?"

She sighed and brought her hands up to her shoulders to intertwine with his. Her expression was apologetic when she said, "I'm sorry for being so touchy. I've just been so tired lately and this was the icing on the cake today. How come you're home so early?"

"Well," he drawled, "I couldn't exactly make my wife a surprise birthday dinner if I was stuck in the office all night, could I?"

Her wide eyes and open mouth were definitely worth standing over a sweltering stove in the middle of August. "Also, I would have tied a rope around Naruto's mouth if he said the word 'Boruto' one more time. The kid hasn't even been born yet." He pulled her into the kitchen and sat her down at the table.

Temari became more impressed with her husband by the minute. She instantly recognized the dishes in front of her as curries from her homeland. She beamed at Shikamaru like a fool as he served her and himself.

"Happy birthday Tem."

The food smelled delicious and Temari eagerly took a large spoonful of the spiciest looking one. The burn of chilies sent a familiar tingle down her throat but almost instantaneously something felt off. Her stomach began to churn violently, eyes widening as a hand moved to cover her mouth.

"Are you okay? It doesn't taste that bad to me." He took his spoon and sampled some of her curry; completely normal.

"Mm," she groaned and almost didn't make it to the sink in time to empty the contents of her stomach.

Temari couldn't see how her birthday could get any worse at this point. She sensed Shikamaru moving behind her, holding her hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry Tem, it tasted fine to me. Do you want to lie down?"

"No, I do not want to lie down!" She cried. "I am tired. I am sore. They ran out of the type of vegetable soup I like at that little corner store and I cried, Shikamaru. I cried in public because of soup!"

She angrily wiped the sheen of sweat that had accumulated on her brown away. Surely she looked like a frazzled mess because she certainly felt like one.

"Temari," the tone of his voice distracted her from the nausea. He examined her, scrutinizing every feature. "Do you think you could be – the sickness and being tired that –

It only took her a couple seconds to follow his train of thought. Could it be? Was she...pregnant?

This would explain her moodiness, sore feet and now the sudden nausea. But, she started counting her fingers, it couldn't have been more than a week or so since they had actually started trying.

Both had known that they wanted children but judging by how long they had talked about the subject she was sure it would take months before anything would actually happened. Racking her mind, Temari tried to remember what Hinata had told her about the first couple of weeks and it all added up.

"I - ," her voice sounded strange to her own ears. "I think I am." The air around the two fizzled with nervous excitement. "But," she said as he made a move to speak, "We should find out for sure before we get too carried away."

* * *

This had to be the longest five minutes of their lives.

The timer ticked on the small table next to a tiny stick that could potentially change everything. Shikamaru could feel her foot tapping the floor in anticipation as they sat on the couch.

Her eyebrows were knit and her hands turned one over the other every couple of seconds. He realized that he had to school his expression, hideaway whatever he was feeling until she had her moment whether it be tears or smiles. For once he would have to be the strong one, because although she would never say it, Temari desperately wanted this and he would have to be there for her completely if it didn't work out.

BZZ!

The alarm made both of them stop and stare. Their eyes met for a moment before she said, "I can't do it. You tell me."

Her fingers twitched, fighting to stay in place, contradicting her words.

"Are you sure?" His hands were already moving towards the table as he asked.

In a haste decision, she snatched the test off the table before he could there. It wouldn't be enough to just hear the words.

She wanted, no, it was essential that she have the tangible and visible proof. Of all the difficult moments in her life, the lack of a proper childhood, the confusion and frustration she had felt in dealing with her feelings for a certain lazy man, turning over that unobtrusive piece of plastic might have been the hardest.

He looked on with wary hope as she flipped the test over. Agonizingly, her face revealed nothing. But he patiently sat there, mad with curiosity. He heard a short intake of breath before her face scrunched up in pain and then he knew.

"Shh," the hot, wet tears he felt on his neck and her piercing sobs almost demanded the presence of tears in his own eyes. "Oh, Tem it's okay. I'm sorry. We can try again." He rubbed her back tenderly as she began to blubber out indecipherable words.

"Shh – shik- it – its – p – p"

He pulled back and she held out the test, still teary eyed but the corners of her mouth trembled with a phantom smile. She was saying something now but all he could focus on was the teeny tiny word written on that stick; pregnant.

He felt all the breath he'd held in leave at once. They were going to be parents. He was going to be a dad. It all felt so surreal. Shikamaru was pulled back to the present, physically, as his wife pulled him in for a kiss that was both messy and wonderful all at once.

"We're having a baby," she whispered as they pulled away. Her face was flushed and glowing. The last time he saw her like this was when her brothers had walked her down the aisle.

"Tch, woman, you could have smiled." A strong fist collided with his chest. Temari's previously angelic face had turned sinister.

"This is serious. I won't have you ruining my best birthday ever with your attempt at humor."

However, as she said these words Temari was moving forwards to cocoon herself in his arms. Those next moments were filled with silence and a feeling of euphoria as their hands rested over her stomach, idly roaming the space where their child – what a wonderful word _their _– was.

"My mom is going to lose her mind," he broke the silence with a sigh. Temari giggled, imagining Yoshino grabbing her son by the cheeks in a moment of joy and slight melancholy at the sight of her little boy becoming a man.

She felt a twinge of envy at not having her own mother around to share the news. Kankuro and Gaara would be very happy, she was sure; they just would not express it in a normal way.

"Also," Shikamaru continued with a sly grin, "you and Ino are going to be," in an utterly terrifying and accurate impression of his friend he squealed, "baby buddies!"

Temari felt like her nausea was about to make a second appearance. She had forgotten that the vivacious blonde recently revealed that she was expecting. At the thought of all the stores she would be dragged into, opinions she would have to give, old wives' tales about labour that were sure to terrify her, she shuddered. Nevertheless, it was a comforting thought that someone would be going through this when she was and would understand how she felt.

"I don't think Ino will be too bad," she pondered. "But if you ever do that impression again, my baby will grow up with no father."

"Okay," he conceded, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "It will be nice to finally have something to combat Naruto's family life stories."

"Mm? I didn't know you were so competitive. Try to live with the Uzumaki chronicles at least until we find out exactly how far along I am, although I'm pretty certain it's not all that far. By the time Naruto, or Ino for that matter, finds out the whole village will know."

He wanted to protest. He wouldn't go as far as to shout their news from Hokage Mountain as a certain nameless Hokage did, but he had no qualm in letting every friend and stranger learn of his good fortune.

"Can we tell my mom?"

"Of course, stupid."

"Can we tell Chouji?" His wife grimaced as he gave her his best pleading eyes. She knew it would be torture for Shikamaru to withhold this news from his best friend but she was not entirely convinced.

"I know that he's your best friend and I really do believe that he would try to keep it a secret for us."

"Try? This is Chouji we're talking about there's no doubt in my mind that he would –

"Ah-ah, you're forgetting about someone. Would he really be able to withstand Ino at her most persuasive? Would he be able to withstand her digging through his mind? I love his honesty, but when he's keeping a secret it is written all over his face."

Shikamaru had to reluctantly agree with her.

"Ten weeks," she offered, to erase the frown from his face, "then we can be pretty sure that there will be no complications. You can tell anyone and everyone who will listen to you."

"I love you," he said bluntly.

She almost felt like hitting him for still being able to make her blush like an idiot. She turned in his hold to look him in the eye and his expression caused her to flush dark crimson.

Grumbling, she buried her face into his chest, feeling her ears grow hot at her lover's answering laughter.

"What was that?" he chuckled.

Sitting up, Temari made sure that her teal eyes conveyed the sincerity and depth of every word.

"I love you too," she said without reservation, pleased by the tint of rose that appeared on her husband's cheeks.


	3. It's Too Early for This

A whimper from down the hall wrenched her from the light sleep she had been enjoying. Groggily rubbing her eyes, she noticed the small digital clock on her nightstand flashed 4:00am in bright red letters; right on schedule. Temari kicked her legs out from Shikamaru's, not the least bit worried about waking him up.

He let out a sound somewhere between a grumble and a snore. His arms went right to where her body had been and then decided that her pillow was the next best thing. Rolling her eyes, she walked towards the nursery where Shikadai's little whines were turning into louder cries for attention. The whining stopped the second she opened the door to be met with two bright teal eyes from behind the bars of the crib.

"Morning little man," she murmured. The baby began to gurgle happily at the sight of his mother. He flung up his arms, waving them in the air, which was unnecessary as Temari's first manner of business was to pluck the boy from his crib.

"How's it going?" she asked with mock seriousness.

Shikadai's little eyebrows came together as he cooed in response to his mom, clearly putting an enormous amount of effort into producing those different sounds. Temari was sure that any day now he'd be saying his first words.

Shikamaru told her it was still too early but her intuition told her differently. She was also sure that she had seen her husband quietly mouthing the word 'dada' as he fed their son his mushy food.

Temari lay the still babbling baby onto the table to change and slip him into a fresh set of sleepers. What she really wanted was to put him back to bed but she knew it would be in vain. They had tried it once and the usually calm baby had let out such deafening screams that the couple had never attempted it since.

"You're not going to be nice to mommy and go back to bed are you?" A loud squeal accompanied by some drool was her only response. She was probably biased but her son was definitely the most beautiful baby she had ever seen.

His skin was perfectly smooth and unblemished. The brown fuzz atop of his head would surely grow to be darker like his father's. The boy's rounded cheeks tempted everyone who saw him to reach out and squeeze. Everything down to his small button nose was Shikamaru's but her husband couldn't take any credit for his eyes, the shape or the colour. They were slightly darker than her own and she thought that made them even prettier.

Shikadai began to fuss, agitated that his mother's focus was elsewhere. Temari was tempted to bring him back to her own room but Shikamaru had talked with her at length about this. He needs to get used to his room. Why do we even have a nursery in the first place then? You need to be separated from him at least for six hours of the day; nonsense like that. She continued to walk the floor with Shikadai who was still noisily speaking in a tongue only he understood.

"Your daddy doesn't know what he's talking about. He's just being a lazy bum, as per usual. Your mama knows what's best for us. Remember that little fawn, mama always knows best. Who knows? Mama."

"Ma-ma"

Quickly pulling the baby back from her chest she looked into his little eyes, thinking she was still half asleep and must have heard wrong.

"Did you say mama? Mama?"

"Mama," he said softly, reaching for the hem of her night shirt. Her eyes started to prickle and she couldn't help but laugh. Quickly she ran back into her own room, Shikadai cradled against her.

"Shikamaru, Shikamaru!" she called urgently.

Her husband comically shot up from bed and into a fighting stance.

"What is it?" his voice cracked, thick with sleep. His stance relaxed as he saw it was only his wife holding their son. Flopping back into bed with an irritated moan he looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Ugh, why would you do that Tem?" His heart still thumped almost painfully in his chest. From her tone of voice he had assumed that the house had caught fire or that assassins had infiltrated the compound.

"He said mama," she exclaimed proudly.

Temari placed Shikadai on the bed beside him. His little hands went directly for his father's face, poking him in the eye. The alarm clock read 4:30am. It was much too early for this sort of troublesome thing.

"Temari, you've been getting up with him in the morning for weeks. You're tired and hearing things." His wife crossed her arms and glared.

"I am not imagining anything. He said it...twice!" Shikamaru looked at his son, whose mouth was presently occupied with several of his fingers, getting slobber all over their bed sheets.

"Come on Shikadai," Temari pulled the hand away from his face, "show daddy how you said mama. Say mamaaa." Shikamaru almost laughed at Shikadai's wide eyes and his wife's expectant face. The boy looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"I told you."

"He just doesn't want to say it for your lazy face," she sneered. Crawling into bed with her two boys, she began to rub the baby's tummy.

The boy quickly turned towards his mother and Shikamaru couldn't help but feel a little irritated by this obvious favouritism. His son might not be able to say mama yet but he was clearly a 'mama's boy'. His thoughts were interrupted by a string of,

"Mamamamamamamama"

Temari let out a happy cry and squeezed her baby close while Shikamaru couldn't quite believe his own ears. Shikadai shrieked happily as his mother began to tickle him. His wife momentarily stopped her ministrations to look at him.

"Well, say something."

"It's much too early for him to be saying anything," he protested.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll say daddy soon enough. We're going to have to watch what we say around him. Something tells me he'll be soaking words up like a sponge from now on."

He was proud, but he couldn't help but feel a little sad. Temari was with Shikadai much more often than he could be and he felt like he was missing things.

"You better say daddy soon little fawn or your mother will start to get a big head."

Shikadai stared at him with half open green eyes. His tiny mouth opened for a rather large yawn.

"I guess it's okay though, she would have _my_ head if you had said anything else."

Temari's face told him what a ridiculous thought that was. The small family settled into a comfortable position. Temari was out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Shikadai struggled to keep his eyes from closing but the morning's excitement proved to be too much for him and, he too, fell into a peaceful sleep.

Even though life was moving so fast, it was moments like these, Shikamaru felt like none of it mattered and that what was here in his arms was all that he would ever need.


	4. Lonely Hearts Club

It was Valentine's Day in Konoha, that famous day when the infamous Konoha Eleven became the bachelor Konoha Three. On this fateful day the inside of Ichiraku's Ramen became home for three lonely men. They ranged from openly expressing their discontent to utter denial. All were feeling slightly more miserable this year as they had lost yet another member of their group to the clutches of a female and that stupid thing; love.

"I can't believe yet another good man has fallen," Kiba exclaimed, banging his fist on the counter for emphasis. The beastmaster had already had one too many. "All anyone really needs is a pal like Akamaru." The large white dog at his side barked in agreement. "Chouji might have left us for what's-her-face but at least there's still the two of us, right Lee?"

"You've forgotten me again, Kiba."

Both men looked guiltily towards their left. Shino stared them down. Glasses were hiding his expression but the aura of annoyance emitting from his body was an unmistakable warning.

"Of course we knew you were there Shino. Your youth cannot be concealed no matter how thick your trench coat is!"

"No matter, no matter," Kiba laughed nervously, "old man can we get some more sake over here?"

With more drinks placed before them, Kiba started to get down to business.

"Brothers, we have made a pact, an oath to remain free and independent of women. And as we sit together celebrating our freedom, a toast for our fallen brothers."

After their glasses clinked together Shino let out a sigh filled with anguish.

"What is wrong my friend?" Lee questioned, throwing himself onto Shino in a slightly drunken stupor.

"I was just remembering a horrible mission I was sent on."

"Was it an assassination?" Kiba questioned.

"Worse, much worse," the bug user shuddered. "Naruto and Hinata," nothing else needed to be said. All three men stared into space for a few seconds.

"I know how you feel man," Kiba patted his arm comfortingly.

"No, Kiba, you have no idea. Hinata is like our sister and Naruto – he – he – it was just disturbing. They tried to be discreet about it but noise travels in a forest. It travels...so...fast," his voice rang clear with suffering and disgust.

"Fret not Shino I have also been made a victim of this type of thing. Recently, I was on an escort mission with Sai and Ino-chan. The whole time I thought something was wrong because they kept staring at each other. Sai is always giving everyone that fake smile of his but I thought this was only youthful. But when we stopped at an inn Sai left the room we were sharing," Lee's eyes became shiny and tears brimmed over the edges, "and my ears lost their innocence that fateful night!" he cried.

Shino gave his spandex clad friend a grunt of apology.

Kiba stared at the two before bursting into raucous laughter. His face became so red that the two men thought he was choking.

"You two, oh, you have no idea. Mine is so much worse! Prepare yourselves for a most horrifying story." He could still see it all so clearly.

He remembers walking into the Hokage's office. Kakashi sat behind his desk, hands in a steeple position.

* * *

Greeting Kiba with a wave he spoke, "Here's the other member of your team."

The two already in the room turned to look at him. The woman with hands on her hips glowered in his direction. The man let out an aggravated sigh. He should have known right there, Kiba told himself, that this could only end badly.

"I realize that the two of you could probably handle a mission like this yourselves but protocol says I must send three shinobi."

"What a drag."

The Hokage's eyes lit up with mirth. The couple walked out of the room but Kiba just stood in shock.

"Sorry about this," said Kakashi, but judging from the crinkle of his eyes and amused tone of voice Kiba determined that he was quite pleased. "I wouldn't have done this to you if I had another option."

"It's fine but why are you apologizing?"

"Temari hasn't been here in Konoha for a month," the Hokage let the sentence sit in the air. Kiba sure felt like a dunce now for not understanding the weight of those words.

"I understand," he said, unconvincingly.

"Uh huh," with that Kakashi waved him out of the office and out to his dismal fate.

* * *

"Hold on a minute!" Rock lee interrupted his story. "You mean to say that this is about Shikamaru and Temari-san? This is the same as what Shino and I experienced?"

"I must agree with Lee," said Shino, "those two hardly seem like the type."

Kiba just shook his head. Perhaps he shouldn't share his burden with them. He hadn't been able to look Shikamaru in the eye for a week after the incident. However, screw that! They had made him suffer so the village deserved to know.

"I wouldn't speak so soon you two."

* * *

He met them at the gates. Shikamaru gave a quick debrief of the mission and they were on their way. It was a short mission. They were supposed to travel to a small village near the edge of fire country to retrieve some rare medicinal herbs. Usually this would be a job for genins but news had gotten out that some rogue shinobi were also after the medicine.

It all seemed rather stupid to Kiba. What kind of rogue shinobi was interested in dumb plants anyways?

They'd be able to reach the village by late afternoon if they traveled at top speed. Shikamaru, who had actually been there before, suggested that they set up camp that night in the same spot he had been last time with Choji and Ino.

By the time they had reached the village and collected the herbs he wished that they had been attacked by rogue ninja.

Perhaps it would have relieved the uncomfortable tension, which seemed to roll off the two shinobi beside him in waves. Kiba wasn't as naive as Rock Lee. He knew perfectly well what the looks, or rather the ogling, between the two of them meant. When he got back to the village he would be sure to stay clear of Shikamaru's apartment for a couple of days.

By twilight they had reached the clearing and Kiba eagerly offered himself up to retrieve some kindling for the fire, anything to rid himself of the thick sexual tension that was practically tangible at this point. Meandering through the forest, he decided to give them a solid half hour.

He was very careful in collecting each twig and was positive this was ample time for those two to make out and get over whatever was in their systems.

The sun had finally ducked below the horizon when Kiba started to make his way back to camp. He thought his ears were betraying him as he approached the clearing. And it was then that he stood, arms at his side, kindling crashing to the ground.

Now, he realized that he probably should have returned fifteen minutes earlier. If he had just done that, sure, he would have found them in a lip lock but at least it wouldn't have been like this.

"Are you just going to stand there and watch?" A prickling female voice questioned.

Kiba couldn't process much as this point. His face was surely the colour of the sash that had previously, that should still be, tied around the woman's waist.

Weren't they supposed to break apart from each other? Shouldn't they be embarrassed and apologizing profusely? No, they weren't doing either of those things.

"Your friends are all perverts."

He could hardly believe his ears. It wasn't him who was stark naked and entwined with another person. Really he didn't know what he was waiting for. All he knew was that his feet were like lead.

"He'll be a dead pervert soon," his comrade's usually lazy tone of voice was surprisingly brisk and spared Kiba no doubt that he was about to make good on that statement.

Possibly faster than he had in his life, he sprinted. All night he ran, Akamaru whining at his side, all the way to Konoha, not daring to look back.

* * *

His friends' faces were almost worth reliving such an experience.

He was positive that Shino's mouth hung open under that ridiculous coat. His teammate's face was even paler than usual.

Lee looked like someone had just told him Gai-sensei was ill with a terminal disease.

"You – saw ..." Shino stuttered.

"Everything," he admitted. Lee had made his way over to him and Kiba was engulfed in a crippling hug.

"Oh, Kiba, I cannot bear to think of it. You truly are the most unfortunate of us all!"

It was at this moment that a couple passed the shop entrance. The spiky hair, black and blond, left no room for doubt. All three of them quickly looked intensely into their meals and away from the street. Kiba thought he must have done something fairly awful in a past life to deserve this.

* * *

"What do you think their problem is?" the girl questioned, clinging to his side for warmth.

Shikamaru took one look at Kiba's ramrod spine and blazing face and smirked. His girlfriend looked expectantly at him.

With a chuckle, he swooped down to kiss her unexpectedly, pleased by the increasing awkwardness of the three men in front of them.

"You're really not going to tell me?" she huffed after the broke apart.

"I could...but it would all be rather troublesome."


	5. Worry Wart

They had gone to the hospital for a more comprehensive diagnosis the day after the home test. As Temari had thought, she was only a week along at this point. Their medic had given them all the necessary information, what to expect at this stage, complications that could arise, things to avoid.

It was enough to make Shikamaru sick with worry. He couldn't help what his brain naturally wanted to do; calculate the odds and give a percentage. The nurse assured them both that, although it was very early, everything appeared to be normal. Embarrassingly, she pointed out his anxiety in front of Temari.

"Nara-san you shouldn't worry. The risk of a miscarriage drops significantly after the first trimester; the first twelve to thirteen weeks. You've already got one down, only eleven more to go!" she said brightly.

Well, didn't that make him feel so much better? He felt his eye twitch in annoyance. Eleven weeks was still what he would consider to be a very long time. As Temari asked the nurse about morning sickness, his mind kicked into overdrive.

His wife wasn't someone who would rest in bed and allow herself to be taken care of. In fact, she'd probably want to go travel back to the land of iron to make that cursed meeting they were both meant to attend.

"I have to ask Temari-san. Are you scheduled for any missions in these upcoming weeks?"

"No. I've just been filing papers. Although I'm going to the land of iron –

"_Were _going to be travelling," he interrupted, "to the land of iron but I don't think we'll be going now." Her glare was almost enough to make him take back his words. However, sometimes he needed to put his foot down. There was no way he was letting his pregnant wife walk miles through the wilderness for some gathering that was really more of a formality than anything.

"I have to agree with your husband Temari-san," the nurse smiled nervously, not that Shikamaru could blame her. If glaring daggers was an art, his wife would be a master. "It's best that you remain close in case anything happens. Surely you'll have more questions as time goes on. For now, nothing but D rank missions if any at all, moderate exercise and walks are fine and try to keep your stress levels to a minimum."

"This appointment is stressing me out," she grumbled under her breath.

The medic either didn't hear her or chose to blissfully remain silent. You had to be tough to work in a hospital. Shikamaru just hoped this nurse knew what she was getting into and wouldn't leave midway through the birth when Temari would no doubt start a verbal assault on everyone within ears reach.

"Well, I'll have you come back in the next couple of weeks. Feel free to call at any time if you have questions."

Temari all but jumped off the table. Shikamaru turned around and gave the nurse an apologetic wave for his wife's behaviour.

"Congratulations again!" she called from the door but Temari was already storming down the hall. He could almost see the smoke coming from her ears.

* * *

"Temari!"

He yelled, running out onto the street to catch up with her."Jeez, troublesome, you shouldn't be running like that," he held his stomach to catch his breath.

"I'm pregnant not invalid! I can't believe her. D rank missions, seriously? I haven't done something like that since I was a genin," she spat, "It's insulting!"

Bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose, he sighed. The carefree giddiness would only last so long before the frustration, sickness and mood swings begun. He had told himself this earlier.

Shikamaru tried to put his hands on her shoulders but she angrily shook them off, not that he was too surprised.

"Temari," he said seriously, "no one is saying you should take lower level missions because they think you're incapable right now. They're doing it because they want to assure the safety of our baby. I know it's not going to be easy and you'll no doubt want to strangle or kill me, probably both, by the end of this but it'll be worth it."

"I know that, idiot."

Pulling on her bottom pigtails a little and biting on the bottom of her lip she fumed for a couple more minutes. She would kill him for voicing it, but he thought she looked quite cute.

"I just thought I'd be able to do so much more at this point and now - ," there was a slight waver in her voice and Shikamaru didn't know whether he should hug her or run for cover. "Now, I know it's just going to get worse! If I can't even travel now how am I going to go to Suna to see my brothers?"

He hadn't thought that far. Of course she would want to visit them. The Kazekage couldn't just up and leave his village and unless the two brothers alternated their stays it would be impossible. The land of iron was farther than Suna but traveling through a desert wasn't much better than hiking up snow covered mountains.

"They'll find a way to come here," he assured her. "They would want to know that you're taking care of yourself."

It seemed he had avoided sending his wife into hysterics but her expression was strange. Her face had turned ashen. Clamping one hand over her mouth she turned and threw up into the closest thing which happened to be a mailbox.

That was...unfortunate.

"I'm fine," she protested, shooing him away. With wary eyes he watched her as she made the way back to their house. Several people smirked at them as they walked past. Shikamaru was sure they'd soon become bored with them as he had a feeling this spectacle was about to become a regular occurrence.

His attention was suddenly brought to her feet. At first, he thought her foot had simply hit a rock but then he realised that she was swaying and rather dangerously. Before the blonde's legs could give out he scooped her up.

"Put me down you jerk."

"Not a chance woman." Her voice had been much too quiet to view the comment as a threat. "You were about to faint."

"No I wasn't."

"Tch," she would be the death of him, "always trying to get the last word in that's why woman are –

"I'll throw up on you if you finish that sentence."

* * *

For all her talk, Temari had slept five solid hours since he had placed her in their bed.

While she lay in bed Shikamaru had taken the liberty of throwing away all the food the doctor had told her to stay away from. She hated squid and octopus, really any kind of seafood, so not eating fish would be easy. Bean sprouts, cooked were okay but did he really want to take a chance?

Into the garbage they went.

Coffee was the big one. Honestly, he didn't think he would be functioning without it in the morning. He could just get it on his way to work though. It would drive her mad to see him drinking it in front of her.

He was broken from his reverie by the sound of his wife retching. Before he could reach her she walked into the kitchen.

Surprisingly, he was able to sit her down at the table and get her to take the vitamins and medicines that had been given to them earlier. When she asked for some oatmeal her expression was so utterly miserable that there was no way he could refuse. Thankfully, her mood greatly improved as the medicine worked its way through her system.

"You know," she grinned for the first time in hours, "this might not be all too bad if you're going to wait on me like this."

Her cheeks were flushed but no longer pale and clammy. Her eyes were focused and even had some of that spark he'd missed.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to faint again." So she could admit it. "This – It's just been a lot to take in. Two days ago I wasn't worrying about how I should be living my life or everything that could go wrong. I promise," she grabbed his hands, "that I won't go running off to any union meetings or take unnecessary missions."

As if a weight had been lifted off his chest, it was suddenly easier to breathe. This whole time he had been coming up with plan after plan. When he was at work how would he be able to check in on her? They hadn't told anyone else so he couldn't go up to his mother or friends and ask them to keep an eye out for his pregnant wife. One option had involved him bribing ninja dogs to watch the house.

"But," he knew it was too good to be true, "you have to stop this constant ...guarding. Honestly, it's sort of creeping me out. I'll do my part the best I can but I still have to live. The kid will be taking over my life as soon as he or she in here. I need at least these few months to just be myself."

"I guess I'm just kind of scared about all of this."

"No surprise there cry baby."He raised an eyebrow at her but continued,

"I just want to make sure that you're not over exerting yourself."

It really looked like she wanted to say something. Start the argument all over.

"What I'm trying to say is let me take care of you, at least a little." Her flushed face became slightly brighter at his words. "This is for my own selfish reasons of course." He really didn't know what she was going to say.

"Make me some tea."

Temari could never have prepared herself for this side of Shikamaru.

As much as she hated relying on anyone, maybe she could if it was him.


	6. The Seven Things I Like About You

Dear Temari,

_Your eyes_

Your eyes are an ocean in the desert. They are always alert, always perceptive and at times they're seemingly all knowing. The blue skies that I watched so often in my youth don't hold a candle to them. They aren't quite like water but they quench a foreign thirst I never knew existed. All the words you could never say are somehow revealed by those winged lash covered flecks of teal. People say that the eyes are windows are a window to the soul. No matter how corny, if that is true, I know I've found solid gold.

_Your smile_

Feral, unrestricted and yet somehow natural, it was part of the trap. The only trap I have willingly walked into. I knew it meant trouble, the worst kind, the type I'd find myself wanting more of. Over the years, it became a game. What could I say to be rewarded a flash of teeth and a crinkled brow? It's not docile like Sakura's; it's not even close to the demure sweetness of Hinata, nor is it a seductive smirk like Ino. Other people are frightened by it, or so you've told me. However, despite its untamed appearance, I think it's the most beautiful.

_Your strength_

That fan you lug around is no joke. Maybe you don't possess supernatural power, but no one would ever question your strength. No one would dare accuse Temari, daughter of the fourth Kazekage, sister of the fifth, of weakness. You had experienced more pain by the tender age of three then some people could imagine going through in their lives. To you, losing someone you love isn't nearly as second nature as it should be, so you built up walls. You are thick skinned and definitely the stronger of the two of us.

_Your devotion_

It comforts and terrifies me that you are so devoted; devoted to the people of Konoha and Suna, devoted to you brothers, devoted to your son and me. There's no doubt in my mind that you would sacrifice yourself, that your wellbeing is a mere afterthought to the names listed above. Sometimes I'm angry at myself when you absent mindedly mention Suna. You sometimes miss the sand and heat of wind ravaged Sunagakure. I say I took you away from your home but you always deny it and punish me for 'being an idiot'. Everything you do you face head on, with no regrets, and no looking back. I'm the lucky one.

_Your support_

You are my closest confidant. We had each other's backs as allies, as friends in the union, and now as spouses. The death of Asuma, the death of my father, you were always there to listen. Sorry for crying in front of you all the time. There's something about that tone of voice you use...it always makes it seem okay to let everything out. What I will say to friends is prodding and pushing I know is really encouragement in disguise. You've managed the impossible, giving the lazy man motivation.

_Your integrity_

A woman of principle, years ago you were ordered to attack our village but you questioned what was right. Your compass points true north. The generation we were brought in was born fighting. You saw the needless suffering, you experienced the pain and you wanted to do something. Together we fought for a free world and a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. Perhaps you were not always honest with yourself and what you wanted but then again neither was I. But now, there are no secrets between us. Our relationship is one built on truths. Everyone calls me a genius, but if I am being truthful, I think they're looking at the wrong Nara.

_Your kindness _

Although you are fearsome, a hurricane in human skin, a rough and troublesome woman, you are kind. I knew you could be gentle when you saved my life the first time. I saw it in the way you looked after your brothers, watching over them like a hawk. I felt it when you agreed to go out with me, sensed it as you would lie next to me staring at the stars. It darn near destroyed me when you agreed to be my wife. Now, I see it in the way you stay up for me, no matter how late I get back from the office. I see it when you creep into our son's bedroom at night to wish him sweet dreams. This is what makes you so fascinating, the biggest oxymoron, gentle and rough. You will never cease to amaze me.

* * *

Dear Shikamaru,

_Your hair _

I really thought it was stupid. How could anyone walk around with their head looking like a popular fruit? It definitely made picking you out from a crowd easier. That hair is probably why I kept thinking of you, despite us not having any other connection. Then I met your father. This was your pride as a clan. Everyone knew who you were and where you belonged, before you even told them your name. You value your family and I value tradition, so maybe it's okay for our son to look like a miniature pineapple.

_Your intelligence_

'The genius' is often what follows your name. It infuriated me at first, how easily you beat me. I didn't want anyone looking down at me, especially you. You saved so many lives on the battlefield with that brain of yours. Yet, for all your smarts, it took ages for you to come to terms with how you felt about me. In some regards you really are an idiot. The look on your face once you've solved a problem is priceless and addicting. However, shogi and war come naturally to you and what really sets you apart is emotional intelligence. You understand people and the effortless way in which you interact with others baffles me.

_Your loyalty _

Three days apart, it's awful, the worst torture. I knew that it would never stay that way for too long. We never questioned each other's faithfulness. No matter how many miles of desert and forest apart we were, we knew this was strong enough to last. Your village, your clan, your friends all rely on you like I do. I know it is troublesome and that it exhausts you but they're also your source of strength. You've shown everyone so much kindness and I know you'll never be alone. You don't have to do everything by yourself anymore.

_Your humility _

You are a hero. There is no denying it. When the moon was breaking apart, the fate of humanity was sitting on the point of a needle; you were on the front lines. People love to remind you of your intelligence. You've been a progeny since you could speak, never have I seen it get to your head. Instead of basking in your heroism you simply move on, trying to find one more problem to fix, some way to make another's life easier. Remember to take care of yourself though.

_Your fragility _

Unexpected and oh so strange it was to me. I had never seen a man cry before. It had been years since I had felt the warm, salty water of tears on my own face. By now, you should know that when I call you 'cry baby' it is one of my highest forms of compliment. I envy you for this the most. You can be moved to the point of tears. There were so many moments when it should have been me. When you asked me to be your wife I accepted and there were definitely tears in your eyes. Everyone cries at weddings you told me. Years later you have accomplished the impossible, making the cruelest kunoichi cry. We were both a mess when our son was born. After that it became easier for me express how I felt, but only for you.

_Your smile_

The spell was cast. After I saw it I realized there was no point in fighting anymore. There was the close mouthed smile, more like a grimace. The mischievous grin and lopsided smirk, they all have a place in my heart. But that unrestrained, wide smile that shows every tooth always makes me stop and appreciate everything we have. It's rare but I'm finding more ways to pull it from you.

_Your vision _

The King is what you call them. You have such great plans for the future; you are the most renowned strategist for a reason. After everything we've seen you can still be optimistic. I know it isn't your destiny and it's not your dream but I stand by my claim that you would make an excellent Hokage. The portrait of peace you paint with such determination will be a masterpiece one day. Even if it cannot be finished in our life time we'll be able to rest soundly, knowing you laid the foundation. We both want a brighter future. If I had only one wish it would be for our son to never see war. I believe you can grant me that.


	7. A Right of Passage

"Are you sure about this?"

Temari warily eyed the herd that had come running out from the bush at the sound of Shikamaru's whistle. She remembered, years ago, when he had brought her here the first time. She wasn't an official Nara then and these creatures had seemed to know it. They had sniffed, nudged and darn well almost pushed her to the ground before Shikamaru had intervened, laughing like the jerk he was. As the clan leader, he had all of their respect, from the largest stag to the tiniest fawn.

These deer were too smart for their own good, much like the family who cared for them. An unspoken understanding had passed through the herd when Shikamaru had draped his arm around her shoulders back then; one of us. What the heck was up with that? Granted she didn't mind Shikamaru laying some kind of weird 'deer claim' on her if it meant she wouldn't be trampled to death.

Now they stood in the same clearing and when the largest one, the leader, stepped towards her she couldn't help it. The antlers screamed dangerous and she quickly brought the precious life in her arms closer to her body and out of reach. The buck let out an exaggerated snort as her husband sighed.

"Do you really think my clan would keep doing this generation after generation if it wasn't safe?"

"Sorry for remembering the first time _I_ was introduced to them."

"That was different. You were a stranger and a full-fledged kunoichi from another village no less. They were only doing their job." Right, attack the foreigner. Round black eyes stared up at her with curiosity. Was it just her or were some of them getting more restless? "These deer are smarter than you give them credit for. They know who he is and who he belongs to."

The little bundle in her arms began to fuss. He had seen the deer and was upset by his current situation, pressed up against his mother's chest with no view. "Only for a little while, okay?" He nodded. "And if he starts to cry I'm picking him up."

"You can pick him up if he cries." Nervously, she bit her lip. She wasn't afraid of Shikadai meeting the deer eventually but she thought he would be able to at least walk at that point. He was still so small. She was scared of hurting him herself sometimes. Shikamaru leaned down to place one of Shikadai's baby blankets on the grass. Very slowly and hesitantly she lay her him down.

Shikamaru didn't know which was more animal the deer or Temari. She stood over her son with such a primal stance. Her knees were slightly bent lest she have to snatch the infant away from danger. Her arms hung away from her body, hands outstretched, eyes unblinking as she stared down the approaching buck.

The stag lowered its head very slowly, as if to appease his wife, and sniffed the baby. The answering screech Shikadai gave when his face was licked had Temari lunging forward, only to be stopped by Shikamaru's hand. His son had grabbed the large animal by the nose and was examining it with comically large eyes. After a short while the deer had satisfied its curiosity and disappeared into the trees. Several more deer, does, bucks and gangly fawns all came to meet the Nara heir.

Even though she was uncomfortable, Shikadai all curled up around a bunch of speckled fawns might just be the most adorable thing she has ever seen. Shikamaru placed himself on the grass next to the blanket and was instantly swarmed. It was like an illustration, father and son in this tranquil forest surrounded by deer. Not for the first time, Temari felt out of place. She was now a Nara but she could never have this connection. She didn't have anything like this she could share with her son. Her family was small and hardly had any history that wasn't tarnished by corrupt leaders.

Shikamaru looked up at his wife. Her eyes were far away. She was blunt and straightforward woman. Whenever she was silent like this he knew something was upsetting her. He tugged the edge of her kimono, prompting her to sit next to him. He knew from experience that she would tell him on her own time if it was important enough.

The two of them happily watched their son. It would seem that the deer had adopted the boy, making his nickname, little fawn, even more suitable. Shikadai had been included in the grooming process with the rest of the youngsters. The small amount of fuzz on his head had been slicked back by all the licking.

"See, they don't eat babies."

She wouldn't let him bait her with his obvious teasing. Situated between his legs with his chin resting atop of her head, she could finally relax. Most of the deer had meandered back into the woods to graze by now. Shikadai rolled over onto his stomach, a new skill he'd acquired a couple of days ago, to look at his parents.

Before she could reach for him, Shikamaru removed himself from their position and gently picked the baby up. Only four months old, Shikadai looked so small in his father's arms. She could only sit back and appreciate them. No mother would blame her for acting as she did but she chastised herself for not trusting Shikamaru enough. How could she even doubt for a second that he would risk anything when it came to their son? Cradling the boy in his arms, Shikamaru stared at him almost reverently. All lines were erased from his face and she could tell that nothing else, not the future or work, was in his mind other than his family. Just when she thought it was impossible to love him any more than she already did...


	8. Crazy Stupid Love

It was well into the wee hours of the morning when Shikamaru finally reached the union's headquarters. Everyone knew that he was lazy. When he was younger he would never go out of his way to do anything unless he could gain something from it or if his mother was breathing down his neck. Over the years, he had come to realize the faulty way of his thinking. He had become responsible and had learned that there were some things worth all the effort he could expend.

One of those things was the reason he had traveled so far and so early. The sun wasn't even close to rising. No one in their right mind would be up but he wasn't in his right mind. His brain had been taken over by his heart and a person in love did crazy things.

Their partners at the shinobi union had all been beside themselves when he had announced that him and Temari were dating. Several had had their suspicions from the beginning and more than one 'finally' was uttered. Unfortunately for them, the joy soon became annoyance as the two shinobi were hard pressed to get any work done while in each other's company. That annoyance transformed into discomfort as more than one person had found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time to witness the couple in less than professional positions.

They had thought they were being discreet. However, when Kankuro had made a surprise visit only to find his sister, not working but in a heated lip lock, Temari had lectured him about public displays of affection. Now, anything that happened took place behind closed doors, though the furtive glances across the room and the fleeting brushes of feet from underneath the table could not be stopped.

This was why he was running to headquarters. Word had gotten out that she had arrived earlier than planned, no doubt to get a decent amount of work done before he could arrive and they'd both be otherwise employed. The vision was so clear that Shikamaru almost laughed aloud.

She would wake up tomorrow morning and walk towards the meeting room. The look on her face would be priceless when she saw him. Being Temari, she would try to be angry, probably chew him out in front of all their colleagues but he knew he would see that slight upturn of her mouth. Sooner than later her hand would find his and it wouldn't be long before they found themselves in her office, telling each other what had happened in the time since they'd been apart. Whether it was three weeks or three days apart, it always hurt. Anytime they had together never felt like it was enough.

Instead of going to his room, he walked down the familiar hallway towards hers. Even though she would be asleep he needed to see her face. It was the only time the tension left her shoulders and she became blissfully unsuspecting. Before he could reach the familiar large white doors he was stopped by a dim light shining from the room across the way. Shikamaru couldn't quite believe his luck. He couldn't hear the scratch of a pen or the rustle of papers but he could envision Temari holed up in that office staring at numerous reports and treaties.

He slipped into the room soundlessly only to find that she wasn't at her desk. It was the light snores that alerted him. Sitting on the floor, back pressed up against a bookcase, she slept. The book she had previously been reading still lay in her hand which was now on the ground. Her hair ties had loosened and her mouth hung slightly open. Perhaps the most perplexing thing about this situation was that she wasn't in her usual outfit of choice. She wore a loose light blue shirt, white cotton pants and no shoes. Pajamas of some sort, he guessed.

She's so peaceful and he fights with himself for several moments before giving into temptation and softly running his hand along her cheek. A groan escapes her mouth and that alone tells Shikamaru she is exhausted. Any other time she would have jumped to her feet, startled by the contact. In fact, if she weren't completely drained, she would have bolted upright as soon as he walked into the room.

"Temariiiiii."

Finally, her eyes blinked open. He had called out to her quietly in the hopes of avoiding an attack. To her credit, Temari quickly came to her senses and registered who was in front of her.

"What are you doing here?"

"You could at least pretend to sound happy to see me. I ran through the night to get here, you know." She scoffed at his teasing and rubbed her neck which had been hanging in a rather unnatural position.

"Everyone in their right mind is still asleep," she grinned, throwing the exact words he'd said to her years ago back in his face.

"Ha ha," he drawled sarcastically, "I never proclaimed to be in my right mind. And if you are, why are you in here and not in bed?"

She opened her mouth to give a snarky comeback but ended up yawning instead. It was then that he noticed the dark circles under her slightly red eyes. Instead of waiting for her response he pulled her up to her feet and ushered her out of the office and into her room.

Temari really was happy to see him, even if she was too tired at the moment to properly express it. It was too embarrassing to tell him she'd been working late nights, even taking on some of his assignments, in the hopes that they would have a couple of days just to themselves. Months they had been dating but she still wasn't used to this feeling. Now that she was experiencing it, she regretted looking down at people who, at the time, had seemed foolishly 'in love'. Temari realized now that love made you do crazy things, made you numb to everything else other than that person.

Instead of pulling up the covers and leaning down to kiss her goodnight he kicked off his shoes and slid in beside her.

"This arrangement is hardly appropriate for work." Her words held truth but there was no way she was moving.

"People stopped expecting proper behaviour from us months ago," his arms slid around her as he spoke. "Go to sleep."

For the first time in weeks the dull ache in their chests disappeared to be replaced by a pleasant warm feeling. This was why he would run through the night, why he would travel for weeks just to see her.


	9. The Sitter

"There's a change of clothes, blankets, a bottle and two bags of formula just in case, diapers, pacifiers, his favourite books, his favourite toys –

Yoshino smiled at her daughter in-law affectionately as her list prattled on. The Nara matriarch couldn't be happier that Temari was her son's wife and grandson's mother. She was a prudent, courageous woman who wouldn't allow her lazy son to slack off. She was also fair and kind, a dedicated mother. She reminded Yoshino of herself when she was younger. Shikamaru stood a step behind his wife, clearly more eager to leave.

"Temari, don't worry. I've taken care of a baby before. He will never leave my sight."

After all, this was the first time she would have her adorable little grandbaby all to herself for a whole night. And she wouldn't waste a second of their time together. Shikamaru had come over yesterday begging his mother to help persuade his wife to take the night off from parenting. Since he had been born, Temari was extremely protective of Shikadai.

Yoshino reasoned that the girl's past experience with her own mother still haunted her. Temari had once disclosed to her that she had often watched other children in Suna who had mothers with envy. She had no one to play with; no one to ask for advice and no one to comfort her when she had nightmares about her father and youngest sibling. Temari wanted to be there when her child was born so that they would never go without all that she never had.

"I'm sorry. I know that but it's just..."

She stared longingly at the baby Yoshino's arms. He seemed happy to be with his grandmother. From the amount of times she had visited after his birth it was no wonder that Shikadai had grown so familiar with her. Yoshino had babysat before but it had only been for a couple of hours when Shikamaru was at work and Temari had needed some time off.

"Temari if we keep going at this rate the restaurant will be closed by the time we get there."

Both women glared at him. Nervously he swallowed and took a couple steps backwards. Yoshino could sympathize with the young mother, leaving a baby for the first time, even for a few hours, was no easy task. But just because she understood did not mean she would let this carry on forever. Temari and her son needed this time together. So she grabbed one of Shikadai's little hands and waved it,

"Bye bye mommy! We're going to have a good time." Temari stepped forwards and kissed her son's head for what must have been the tenth time before reluctantly turning towards Shikamaru.

"Call us if you need anything," she shouted as her son dragged her away from the house.

* * *

Yoshino loved being a grandmother. She loved being able to buy little socks and shoes. She clearly remembered with agitation the day Ino's mother had rushed over and proudly boasted that her one and only daughter was expecting. She had all but marched over to Hokage tower, grabbed her son by the collar, and demanded that he get a move on. She didn't want to be old and grey before she saw her first grandchild.

The day Shikadai was born was one of the happiest of her life, along with the birth of her own son and her wedding day. He came into the world crying loudly, pink, and healthy. Despite only being a few minutes old, he bore a striking resemblance to his father and grandfather. She had already been crying, but upon seeing his dark hair and familiar face, Yoshino had bawled.

Now it was her turn to brag to any and all who would listen about the new Nara heir. Shikamaru often told her that she spoiled Shikadai, that he was sure he had never gotten quite this lavished upon as a child. But if grandmothers weren't meant to pamper their grandchildren then what were they for?

The two enjoyed their evening playing with blocks, reading books and watching movies. He was so much like Shikamaru in the way he categorized his toys; intelligent. However, he was much more active, toddling around the room, getting into things he shouldn't be. She thanked Temari for her genes.

As a baby, Shikamaru had been almost immobile until the age of two. She remembered worrying immensely and pestering Shikaku to take him to the doctor, sure that their son was somehow delayed. Days before his second birthday, Shikamaru had suddenly decided he would start walking, had pulled himself up and began trotting around the house as if he'd been doing it for years.

It wasn't until Shikadai had finished his bottle and gotten into sleepers that the difficult part of the evening began. He wandered around the house, stuffed animal in hand, peering into all the rooms.

"Mama, mama, mama," he called out. Yoshino had expected him to want his parents sooner or later. What she wasn't prepared for was the way Shikadai squirmed in her grasp as she tried to put him into the crib she had at the house. He had fighting spirit that's for sure. With much effort Yoshino finally got him to bed but he was far from sleeping.

* * *

Temari looked at the menu but Shikamaru could see that her eyes were unfocused. He knew where her mind was, several blocks away, at the Nara compound. His mother was scary woman but she was more than capable of looking after Shikadai for one night. Usually, they were both people of logic. But it looked like Shikamaru would have to be the voice of reason tonight. He rested his hand atop of hers and for the first time all night he felt that her attention was finally on him.

"Everything is going to be fine. I'm sure Shikadai is already in bed sleeping. Do you really think my mother is so incapable?" he questioned.

"No. Of course not! It's just that what if –

His look stopped whatever she was about the say. She bit her bottom lip in frustration.

"It's me okay? Are you happy now?"

He was truly taken aback by her words. She hated to be seen as weak, he knew that, but this was nothing to be ashamed about. Of course he wasn't happy that she was so upset. All he wanted was to have dinner with his wife without her being dragged away to feed, change, or cuddle a baby.

"Don't be like that. It's the first time you two have been separated for this long but it's only going to get easier. Besides, you need to have some time to be yourself. A mother should be there for her kid but not twenty four seven."

"You're right" she sighed.

She hated that he was always right. He gave her a smile, pleased that they were finally making some progress.

"Sorry for being such a drag," she smirked impishly.

"I guess you'll just have to make it up to me," he trailed off suggestively.

* * *

"MAMAAAAA DADAAAAAA!"

"Shh, Shh, Shikadai it's okay," she said in a soft voice that was close to becoming slightly hysterical.

Yoshino could handle some fussing before bed but this had been going on for hours. There was no consoling this child! His face was bright red from screaming and large tears fell from his eyes. With his running nose, he slightly resembled a leaky faucet.

She had tried to distract him with games and food. Even though she had a horrible voice she sang to him and now she was out of options. She bounced him up and down walking around the house. He would cry himself out sooner or later. What time was it? The clock told her it was two in the morning but it felt more like four.

Grandma Yoshino was a stubborn lady though. She would die trying to console Shikadai before she called for her son's help. She didn't even know what time it was when she passed out on the couch with the baby, finally quiet, in her arms.

That's how Temari and Shikamaru found them the next morning. Toys littered the floor, the T.V on, an alarm was ringing but neither Yoshino nor Shikadai were making any inclination that they heard it. The living room looked like a small twister had gone through it.

The couple didn't have it in them to wake the two up. However, Shikadai's little face scrunched up and his mouth opened into, what Temari knew as, the beginning of a cry. Quickly she stepped over to the couch and plucked the baby from Yoshino before he could wake her up. The boy opened his eyes and teal met teal.

"Hey baby," she cooed, "were you hard on your grandma?"

The little monster gave his mom a toothless grin. Temari felt extremely bad for her mother in-law. The poor woman was out like a light. She'd have to think of something really nice to give her for doing this. Shikamaru had busied himself collecting all of Shikadai's things.

"I think we should get out of here," he whispered. "She'll be embarrassed that we saw her like this. Then next time I'm alone with her she'll take it out on me." Shikadai reached towards his father eagerly as he approached.

"You're lucky you're the only grandkid," he said, taking him from Temari, "or else we might have had to start looking for another sitter."


	10. Prosposal

"I'm gonna ask her to marry me."

It was rare for Shikamaru to be back in his old family home. Presently, he was sitting across from his mother at the breakfast table. Yoshino had been shocked to see her son on her door step and before eight no less. They had been eating in comfortable silence before he had come out and said that. Now it all made sense; why he was here.

When she saw her son's uneasy face she realized he was expecting some sort of reply. Although she hadn't been expecting Shikamaru to say those words with the same cadence as someone asking to pass the salt, she couldn't say this came as a surprise.

He had been dating Temari of Suna for little over a year and it had gotten serious quite fast. This would have worried her but the two had known each other for many, many years before they became romantically involved. Temari had a good head on her shoulders. She was a beautiful, strong shinobi from a good family. Of course, these things came second to the fact that her son was irreversibly infatuated with the girl.

Shikaku had told her of Shikamaru's unusual question years ago. What thirteen year old asked his father about love unless he himself was experiencing the beginnings of it? Since then, she had prayed her son would find a responsible girl who could keep him in line. The blonde girl definitely fit that criterion.

Yoshino saw so little of Shikamaru due to his work that she decided to toy with him a little. He already had her blessing for the marriage although she doubted he was asking for her permission. Regardless of her answer, she knew he was confident enough in his decision to marry her anyways.

"She's prepared to move here?" she questioned.

Shikamaru was visibly taken aback by the question. He had expected his mother to shout for joy and embrace him in a bone breaking hug. However, there was not even a hint of teasing in the expression on her face as she sat back in her chair awaiting a response.

"Yeah, we've talked about it a lot. She said she wants to move here. Leaving her home and brothers will be hard but they're adults now. She said it makes more sense for her to move. There are really only two people she'd be staying for in Suna and she has lots of friends in Konoha."

"And you would have gone to Suna if she refused to move?" Relationships were all about compromise. Moving to a whole new village was an awfully large sacrifice to make at the beginning of a lifelong commitment, one that could end in resentment if the other partner didn't have the capacity to give up their own important things.

"Yes. I offered to move first." She worked hard to keep her facade. This was the answer she had been looking for. She had raised her boy to make sacrifices for others. But she couldn't help but feel a little disheartened that he was so willing to give up his village, clan and even move away from her to be with another.

"And what about her position as ambassador?"

"She'll be able to remain the ambassador for Suna from Konoha as long as she chooses to."

"She will be travelling quite a lot, possibly away for weeks at a time."

"If she's moving here I'm hardly in a position to be asking her not to visit Suna now am I?" he questioned, getting quit annoyed by his mother's badgering.

"Does she want children? What will happen when she's off on ambassadorial duties and you're working?"

"We do want kids eventually. When that happens she'll stop traveling to Suna. Temari is pretty adamant about being there for any kids we have. You know what happened with her mother."

His answers had satisfied her curiosity for now. Yoshino decided to take pity on her poor son who looked quite flustered at the moment.

"What's up with this mom? I thought you got along with Temari? Do not want us to get married?"

With that question Yoshino reached for the newspaper and smacked him over the head with it. Leaning across the table, she reached out to pinch his cheeks.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your mother saw this coming from a mile away. I was merely curious about a few things. You never tell me anything." Shikamaru grimaced as she held his face in her hands. Clearly, he was not used to being played the fool. Yoshino had to applaud herself for getting one past the infamous 'genius of Konoha'.

"Troublesome..."

"So, seeing Naruto get married has compelled you to man up and ask the question yourself?"

"Please mom," he rolled his eyes, "we all know I'm twenty steps ahead of everyone so I'm about hundred steps in front of Naruto. I've been planning this much longer than he has."

"Yet he still beat you to the altar."

There was actually a reason for that. The day he had been planning to propose to Temari the energetic blonde had run into him on the street with a grin so large it took up most of his face. His long time friend had been so excited that, although he tried to tell Shikamaru the whole story, he spoke so fast that most of his words blended together in an indecipherable mess.

The news that the famous hero Naruto Uzumaki was to be married to Hinata Hyuga spread through the village like wild fire. Shikamaru hadn't had it in him to take any of the attention off his friend. He knew their engagement would be quite short, hence him waiting to make his own proposal.

"Not everything is a competition. It's happening now. Can't you just be happy with that?"

It was times like these he didn't know what would have been worse, his mother's incessant questioning or the silent knowing smirk his father would have been giving him if he was still here. He no longer allowed himself to wallow in self pity like a child. But at times like these he longed to have his sensei and father around, if not for advice, for their presence. As if reading his mind, Yoshino finally gave him the reaction he'd been expecting,

"Your father would have been very happy." Her voice was strong but her eyes were glassy. "Even though he can't be there on the day, I'm sure he realized what was happening before you knew yourself."

"That old man was perceptive," he agreed.

His father had always been there for him when it really mattered. Though he had come to peace with his passing, it still pained Shikamaru to know his father wouldn't be there to see him get married, hold and teach the clan's secret techniques to his first grandchild.

"He really was," Yoshino agreed.

She still thought about Shikaku every day. The house felt so empty without him and it was even worse when Shikamaru left. But now she was gaining a family member. There was so much to be done. Temari didn't seem like the type of woman who had planned her wedding as a young girl. Yoshino would gladly arrange all the finer details. In fact she'd arrange the whole thing. It might not be the wedding of the ninja world's hero but the first union between two nations in several years was no small deal.

"So how are you going to ask her?"

"Mom!" he protested, flushing red.


	11. Dinner Guest

She had been very worried for him. War had ravaged the land. Too many had been torn for this world too soon and the lives of those who survived were altered forever. Their own family would never be the same. Her heart, no matter how often she had hardened it in preparation for this very outcome, felt like it had been ripped apart when she heard the news.

The first week was the hardest. She cried so often it made her wonder how there could possibly be enough water to produce more tears. After those seven days she told herself she needed to be stronger. Her son was coming home and she needed to be there for him. She couldn't lose herself to the sadness.

Utter shock was all she felt when her boy came to the door because this wasn't the son she had seen off. He was thinner, tired, and older. Despite his sallow appearance there was a glint in his eyes that she had never seen before.

Shikamaru put himself to work immediately after Shikaku's funeral. He helped with reconstruction, quickly rose in the ranks to become a jonin and became Konoha's representative for the new Shinobi Union. Any mother would be proud, and she was, but this was not her son. Gone was the boy who could stare at clouds all day. He took any and all missions given to him. She could see he was headed for a burnout.

When he came back from the Country of Silence she had wanted to clobber him. How could he have been so rash? Surely, the title genius had gone to his head. However, unlike his return from war, when he came home from this mission he seemed at peace.

She almost cried tears of joy when he greeted her with his old smile, the smile of a young boy who knew nothing of pain and suffering. He told her that he had finally grown up. Apparently her twenty year old son had gone through some sort of quarter life crisis.

She had asked him again and again what had happened to make him realize all of this. He had said it was many things that all sort of just fell into place. But she had a feeling she knew what the main thing was when he came to dinner with a guest.

He was put together and seemed healthier, less stressed; happy. The way the two of them were with each other gave her a sense of hope she had almost forgotten. The girl was able to keep up with her son, proving her quick wit and intelligence. She couldn't help but appreciate the pair as they sat across the table. They teased each other, almost relentlessly, but it was not hard to hear the affection in their words. And it was impossible to miss the fondness in her son's eyes as he looked at the girl when her attention was elsewhere.

This girl was everything he had said he never wanted. Nevertheless, here he was eating his words. This firecracker of woman was sure to be difficult, defiant and she was anything but plain.

Temari was her name.

They had met before, Yoshino was sure, when she was years younger. The girl's upbringing was evident by the way she politely addressed her. Shikamaru had told her, Temari worked alongside him at the union and she had 'saved his skin' on his mission to the Country of Silence. If that was so, she not only had to thank her for saving her son's life but for bringing him back to life in a sense.

In the hour that they sat eating and talking she had deciphered a few things.

One, Shikamaru wanted to get through this night with as little embarrassment as possible. As shown by the way he had visited earlier in the day to go over some ground rules. There was to be no awkward childhood stories or old photo albums of him. Of course she had broken those promises, much to Temari's delight and Shikamaru's chagrin.

Two, Temari, despite being an overall confident girl, was really quite nervous. As the evening had progressed she became more relaxed. But in the beginning she had folded and unfolded her napkin so many times Yoshino was sure her fingers were terribly cramped.

Three, their feelings were completely mutual. Every sideways glance, every brush of hands from underneath the table that they thought went unnoticed, confirmed her suspicions. She knew this was it and her son knew it too, perhaps for longer than he would wish to admit. They would be good for each other. She was positive because they mirrored a young Shikaku and herself.

There would be arguing, harsh words and times where they would want to pull each other's hair out but neither was the type to give up. This was love. They were old enough now to know it couldn't all be pretty. In fact, most of the time it was downright messy but it's supposed to be that way. Being a couple meant weathering the worst together.

As she sees them off at the door she grabs a hold of her son's sleeve and pulls him back. And whispers to him, "I like the way she looks at you." From the way his face split into a smile she could guess that he likes it too. In moments like these she gains a new found appreciation for the wonders of fate.

Two people miles and miles apart, star crossed if you will, still had the ability to find each other in the midst of so much devastation and heartache. She's not one to believe in fairytales but as the two walk down the lamp lit street hand in hand oblivious to the rain, some part of her, the young child that resides in all adults, is awakened. She remembers all too well what it is like to be in love. They deserve every second of their happiness.

Her family is three once more.


	12. The Green Monster

It wasn't until after they had started dating that Shikamaru began to notice that something very strange was happening in Konoha. When it came to detecting threats, he prided himself in usually being the first to become aware and take action.

But it wasn't his beloved village under attack, though it was no less dear. After the war, the lines between ninja from different villages had become blurred but these were still 'enemy ninja' in his eyes.

How could he have never realized this before, the way that they made eyes and smiled whenever she walked past? Had the street vendors always flirted with her this shamelessly? Since when had men offered to carry bags for her?

It would be a blatant lie to say there wasn't a little part of him that was jealous. He didn't dwell on his feelings anymore so he came right out and asked her. To his surprise, she was completely oblivious to all of it. Temari figured that people in Konoha was just friendlier than people in Suna.

Though that may be true, he had felt it to be his duty to inform her that 'kindness' was not running through the man at the tea shop's mind when he laughed at all her jokes.

Temari whacked him over the head and told him he was being ridiculous, but was he?

* * *

He had talked to Ino who had found his predicament 'extremely adorable' and assured him that this type of thing happened all the time.

It was no secret that Shikamaru and Temari were dating and as such, she explained, men would naturally want what they could no longer have.

Unlike women, who either turned into crazy stalkers or simply gave up when their person of interest became unavailable, a new type of allure surrounded a taken woman. It didn't have a logical explanation but Shikamaru figured the hormonal male wasn't the most rational thing anyways.

But that couldn't be everything.

He hadn't felt like this when Kankuro had told him all about Temari's childhood friend Daimaru who had confessed his love for her on the battlefield, much to Temari's chagrin. That was probably because the boy was a reanimated clone and didn't pose and threat. But what about that time the group had been at the beach? Why had he only felt a slight twinge of annoyance when Naruto admitted to seeing her practically topless when he had tried to sneak a peek at Temari when she visited the hot springs with her brother?

"The two of you weren't together back then," Ino exclaimed. "You didn't feel anything because you were too busy wallowing in denial! There's only one way to get men to stop looking, a type of kryptonite if you will," she said and wiggled her fingers knowingly. "But I doubt she'll say yes since it's only been a couple months and you wouldn't have the guts to do it anyways."

Ino had sighed and given him a look somewhere between pity and exasperation. In that moment, he knew a storm was coming."Do you honestly think she's going to leave you for that weird guy at the tea shop?" she questioned angrily. Hearing the words out loud did make the idea seem even more ridiculous.

"No," he muttered.

Of course not, they spent weeks away from each other at a time. And although he didn't enjoy their parting, he never questioned her fidelity when she was in Suna. He hoped she never questioned his because there was no question.

This wasn't him.

Shikamaru was all about reason and reason told him that this was nothing to get worked up over. This was just...new. That's all.

"You're such a dork," the blond chastised. "From what you've just told me, she doesn't take any joy in attracting the attention of other men. This is your own problem."

"You don't think I already know that? Tch, I knew I shouldn't have come to you. Troublesome...I guess it's just something I'll have to get used to."

As he turned around to walk out the door she called out to him,

"Instead of fixating on all those guys maybe you should focus on how all her attention is clearly on you when you're together."

* * *

He hadn't thought about it that way.

When they were in private it was more evident but in public it was there as well. She never stood more than a couple inches away from him, clearly indicating they were more than just friends on a walk about town. He saw the way she leaned in a little closer when he said something.

It gave him an inordinate amount of pleasure when she grabbed his hand and he saw the looks of several envious villagers. Though he couldn't help but feel that she did a lot of this for his sake.

Temari had never been one for displays of public affection, so he had been delighted when she didn't beat him after leaning over the table in the tea shop to kiss her. The annoying owner had walked by just in time to see the show and watch her face turn an enjoyable shade of red.

"W-what was that for?" she stammered.

"I just felt like it," he shrugged. Instead of filling their cups, the man had gone into the back, which amused Shikamaru even more. Unfortunately, Temari was quick to catch on.

"This isn't about what we talked about earlier is it? You're such a cry baby."

"Ino said it was completely normal –

"Pfft, you actually went to a girl for advice? I never thought I'd live to see the day!"

He should have just done what he did best; keep his mouth shut. If Temari still wouldn't let him forget how he cried in front of her, he would never live this down. What were the chances that the floor would swallow him up right now and let him die with a little dignity?

The woman across from him huffed indignantly and he realized that she had being saying something.

"Get up," she ordered.

"Why?" Jeez, she was demanding. What had he gotten himself into? The Nara men clearly had a masochistic streak.

"Just do it."

There were little options he had left at this point so he did as told.

His chair scraped noisily against the floor of the tea house and a few people turned to see what was going on. Temari marched over to his side of the table just as the owner stepped out with a cup filled tray.

To his horror and amazement she faced the other patrons and loudly announced,

"I'm dating this man," before turning around and kissing him hard.

The crashing of cups and a few wolf whistles could be heard as she distracted him with what she was doing with her mouth. He was more than a little bemused when they broke apart.

Suddenly she stepped on his foot with much more force than necessary.

"What the hell was that for?"

"That's for being an idiot." With that she sidestepped him and glided out of the shop. Sadly, he had to agree with her.


	13. The Future Mrs Nara

The wedding had been beautiful. The cherry blossoms were all in bloom and Temari didn't think she had ever seen a happier bride, or groom for that matter. She had been in Konoha for a couple of days and Gaara had arrived three days ago, leaving a disappointed Kankuro in charge.

Her youngest brother had been very adamant that he would be attending his good friend's wedding. Naruto had been such a huge influence on Gaara.

It would take the world coming to an end for him to miss this day. Thankfully, Kankuro wouldn't be acting Kazekage for very long. Gaara promised to be back as soon as possible.

Temari, however, would be staying for another week. Every time she came to Konoha her stays always ended up being longer than anticipated. She hoped her brothers weren't getting too annoyed by her frequent absences.

Each time it was harder to leave, whether it was Shikamaru persuading her to spend an extra day, Yoshino asking for a couple more hours or even Ino wanting to go on one more last minute shopping trip.

She loved Konoha, well, she loved Shikamaru and the village sort of become a part of the package deal. As she sat down watching people congratulate the happy couple, Temari couldn't help but wonder when it would be her turn. They had talked about it before, but knowing her lazy boyfriend, it could take years before he got down on one knee. He would probably need a lot of prompting too.

It wasn't often that Temari was caught unaware.

In fact, it had become Shikamaru's self proclaimed goal in life to get her to relax. And now here she was, taking a page from his book and suddenly she's hit upside the face by something. Immediately all eyes are on her and several people erupted into laughter, a few girls sighed longingly. Picking up what had knocked her back into reality, she realized it was the bride's bouquet.

Life sure had a sick sense of humour.

Temari refused to look anyone in the eye, opting to look at the ground in mock concentration, a bright blush covering her face. Shikamaru, who had been sitting next to her, grabbed the flowers and twirled them in his hand. She could have been imagining the contemplative look in his eyes but, as soon as the word 'troublesome' left his lips, she took the bouquet back and whacked him over the head with it.

There was no way she could have guessed what the following week would entail. Her heart had stopped and started so many times that, for once, she worried for her own health.

As always when she was in town, Temari spent almost every waking hour with Shikamaru.

* * *

On Monday they had dinner with Yoshino, which was always an event.

From what he had told her, Temari had always imagined Yoshino would be a strict, loud and generally unpleasant woman. This couldn't have been farther from the truth. She had been so nervous the first time they had met but Yoshino had instantly taken a shine to her.

To Temari, Yoshino was the closest thing she had to a mother. It was no secret, as Yoshino once again proclaimed that night, that she wished Temari was her daughter (legally). Usually she laughed along with the older woman at Shikamaru's expense but that night he had flashed his mother a warning glance and his cheeks were flushed a light shade of pink.

That was what had planted the seed in her mind. What if the time he proposed to her was closer than she had originally thought? Damn him for making her walk on eggshells all week.

* * *

Tuesday, they spent the whole day doing everything that she wanted to do.

He had woken up with her at the break of dawn. Even though it was horrendously early, by his standards, somehow he managed to stay alert and hold a passable conversation. Hand in hand they walked through the market, not really interested in anything particular, but just happy to be together.

As they were walking back towards the hotel she was staying at, he suddenly dropped to the ground.

Temari felt her heart stop then start up again, double pace. However, there was no declaration or ring. He simply adjusted his shoes and gave her a devilish smirk.

The rest of the evening he spent trying to get her to talk to him again.

* * *

On Wednesday he told her that they would be following his schedule. Temari was the bossy one in their relationship, but she wouldn't lie that a take charge Shikamaru attracted her more than it should.

A day run by him meant sleeping in. They had brunch together in small shop near the center of the village. Afterwards, they went back to his place and played shogi. She knew this was his favourite pastime besides cloud watching. Could he be planning to ask her here? After all, a proposal and a game of shogi both required a certain amount of strategizing.

But as the clock kept ticking on and the sun began to set and so she began to dismiss the idea. In the end, they made dinner together before he walked her back to her place.

They shared a goodnight kiss and said those three words. But Temari couldn't help but wish the three had been a four worded question.

* * *

Temari woke up on Thursday to find a note on her bedside table.

At first, she almost tore the damned thing up. He wrote that he wouldn't be able to see her that day.

Even though she tried to be in Konoha as often as possible and Shikamaru did visit occasionally, they still had a limited amount of time together. Here he was wasting it, or so she thought. When her eyes scanned the bottom of the letter he revealed that he was shopping with Chouji and Ino.

For the life of her, she couldn't imagine what type of thing would require those two. If it was clothes, he wouldn't need Chouji and if it was food or anything else Ino probably wouldn't be keen to join.

Despite not being happy about the whole arrangement, when Temari read that she wouldn't be disappointed by this particular excursion. S

he couldn't deny that her curiosity was piqued.

* * *

Friday she could have punched him.

Shikamaru had to be doing this intentionally. As usual, the day had been laid back but that night they went out for dinner.

The restaurant was almost too nice. The food was excellent. The atmosphere had been absolutely perfect but there was no ring in the champagne or dessert.

Temari had to give him a little credit for keeping her on her toes. But he had better either stop teasing her on or get serious if he actually wanted a yes when he did decide to ask.

* * *

By the time Saturday came and went she had truly given up.

Temari had spent the better part of the day with Ino, venting about the previous night's dinner. Ino had given her a sympathetic, knowing look and assured her that Shikamaru wasn't doing this intentionally. He was a man who liked to take his sweet time in making any decisions, weighing all the pros and cons.

Temari knew that but hearing Ino voice it had brought her some semblance of peace. That night she had gone with him to his favourite place to watch clouds, but the usually activity had been turned into stargazing.

It was perfect and tranquil.

For the first time all week, the thought of weddings and proposals was nowhere in her mind.

* * *

On Sunday Shikamaru had told her that he needed to pick up some work documents before they could go about the rest of their day. As always, the last day they had before she left for Suna was to be jam-packed with activities.

So, she had all but pushed him out the door when she heard about the unexpected addition to their day plan. To her surprise they walked straight past the Hokage's office and continued down the road until they came to the arena where the chuunin exams had been staged. There were no events going on so the entire building was vacant.

"What could you possibly have to pick up here?" she questioned.

Slightly peeved by the way he ignored her question and continued to walk ahead of her, she stomped forward with the intent to pull him back and make him talk.

Before she could reach towards him the sunlight hit her eyes. Temari vaguely recognized the familiar surroundings as the inner ring of the stadium. The surrounding walls towered over her now just like they had when she was fifteen. However, it wasn't exactly the same.

There was more greenery; trees, bushes and even flowers covered the ground that had once been dirt as a result of all the fighting. It was strange how coming back to a place like this could make her feel like she was a teenager again.

"This place sure brings back memories," she murmured.

"Yeah," he agreed, "I can almost still feel the way you knocked me into that wall over there with your fan. You were really aggressive back then."

"Hey," she protested, "it was a fight. You should've taken it more seriously. If I remember correctly," she pressed on coyly, "your own villagers threw trash at you."

"I guess I was pretty lame back then," he gave a dry laugh, "I really didn't care if I became a chuunin or not. But being beaten by a girl was not an option."

"Really, you're still going on about all that men and women crap? That was years ago." Instead of throwing back a sharp reply he kept on talking, looking up towards the clouds as he did so.

"During our fight all I was really thinking about was how a life free of responsibilities would be ideal. Playing shogi all day, cloud watching; not having to listen to anyone's nagging would have given me the life I had always wanted."

"Well, we don't get everything we ask for now do we?"

"Yeah, it's for the best though," that look made her stomach twist with nerves. It was much too serious for a lazy Sunday morning.

She saw him swallow before taking a step closer.

"This is a lot more troublesome than I thought it would be."

She scoffed before losing all coherent thought when he started rummaging around in his pant pocket, bending down on one knee.

"I can't think of another woman in my life that is more forceful, domineering, competitive, stubborn," her eyebrow twitched in annoyance at where this was heading, "honest or beautiful. You've saved my skin more times than I'd like to admit. I never wanted to be like my parents but I don't want to spend any more time traveling between villages. Though proposing is a drag, I'm not going to be saying this to anyone else so I guess it's fine. Temari," her heart was beating ridiculously hard in her chest.

He opened the box he was holding to reveal a silver band with three small diamonds in the center. It was simple and beautiful. "We've been through a lot together to say the least and as long as you keep saving me I'll return the favor. You are the person I'm closest to and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, uh, will you – do you want to marry me?"

"_YES_!"

Her reply was so loud and sudden that it shocked both of them.

Before he had the chance to put the ring on her finger she had knelt down to his level to kiss him. Not even the fact that he had been teasing her with this all week could ruin her happiness, although he'd hear about that later. When they finally broke apart he reached for her hand and slipped the band onto her fourth finger.

She wasn't a girl who appreciated accessories but this was never going to leave her hand.

The tiny facets caught the morning sun creating little rays of light. "What do you think?" She smiled wiggling her fingers. He pulled her up, rising to his full height.

"I think I made the right choice. Ino and Chouji were a big help though."

Temari could almost hit herself for being so stupid. Of course on Thursday this is what he'd been doing.

Wait! That meant Ino had known when she had told her Shikamaru probably wouldn't propose. That girl was a born actress. At this rate she wouldn't be surprised if everyone had known before her.

"Do my brothers know?"

"I had to 'declare my intentions towards you' when we started dating. Do you really think I would go behind their back with this?"

"Just how many people were there? I don't care if Gaara's the Kazekage. I'm older than he is and I can make my own decisions."

"They know that. It was out of respect and it is tradition."

He sighed before stooping down to rest his forehead against hers.

"Anyways if people can call you Temari of the sand, Kazekage's sister, representative of the Shinobi Union and the future Mrs. Nara then it was worth it."


	14. It Is That Sort of Thing

It was a giant leap of faith they were both taking. After this, there could be no turning back.

Neither of them wanted to put any more awkwardness into their already uncertain relationship.

And it wouldn't be easy to avoid each other if it didn't go well. They worked together after all.

However, things couldn't continue on how they were. Both had made a decisive step towards the other. No longer children, they couldn't pretend that what they felt for each other was as simplistic as it had been all those years ago.

On one hand, it could end in disaster, broken hearts and grudges that could potentially affect their performances at work. But on the other, they had waited so long and if they were unsure of their ability to make this pan out wouldn't someone have given up by now?

At times, it felt like they were being pulled together by some string of fate, the will of something larger than the two of them. It seemed like every time she had anything to do with Konoha he was always there. Two people from different villages shouldn't have been connected by so many missions and meetings but they were.

Despite being opposites in personality, they shared the same values and got on well together, so maybe fate wasn't completely clueless.

Then it should only be natural that they would find themselves in their current state eventually.

But how did someone push a relationship from friends to something more? Did it occur as naturally as the shift from enemies to allies?

Regardless of their intelligence, neither knew the answer.

And so, it was with great awkwardness that the two walked together when she arrived at the gates.

Unlike all the other times they had met up with each other, there was no witty banter. The uncomfortable silence lingered as the two walked towards where they would eat lunch. Was there some sort of appropriate first date conversation manual they could use?

Sai probably had one.

They sat down at a table and the only words that had been spoken were to the waitress.

Even though she ran the risk of sounding rude and ignorant, Temari couldn't take a single second more of it.

"This is ridiculous," she quipped, "You have to speak at some point."

He looked relieved when she finally voiced her thoughts. Dating was foreign to them but arguing was common place.

"What do you want me to say?"

"You have a brain. Use it." Her glare didn't fool him, as he knew by now what looks to truly be afraid of. There would have been a glint in her eyes if it were the real deal. He smirked, amused with himself by how well he knew her. "This is funny to you? You really are weird."

"Tch, you agreed to this so you can only blame yourself."

That day they had both been extremely nervous. Not only did they both fess up to their feelings but they had had an audience while doing so. She hadn't known whether to scold or thank Gaara that day.

"I guess I did," she sighed.

So far, it seemed like resorting back to their usual topics of conversation was working. Maybe if she could just forget what this was they could actually get through lunch painlessly.

"I'm surprised the fifth let you be here today."

"Kakashi isn't that unreasonable –

"You shouldn't address your Hokage like that."

"Troublesome, like I was saying, when I told him –

"You told him?!"

Great, did everyone know about this? If the Hokage knew then the village's heroic blond idiot knew, and if that was the case, then all of his friends knew as well. They were probably being spied on as they spoke.

From across the table, Shikamaru gave her a pointed look.

"Am I going to be able to finish?"

He paused, giving her the chance to say something.

"As I was saying, when I told Kakashi that I couldn't take the mission he gave it to someone else instead."

Unabashedly, Temari stared him down until a faint blush rose on his face.

"You told him what you were doing though." It was an accusation, not a question. "There's no way he would have let you skip out if you hadn't."

"Would you rather I had taken the mission?"

* * *

The waitress had returned to put their drinks on the table.

To her, they seemed more like two people forced to spend lunch together than a couple.

Both had their hands on the table, brows furrowed, eyes squinted. Before she could back away, they had ordered through gritted teeth, their gaze never leaving the other.

"Don't be stupid. I said yes for a reason."

Shikamaru already felt exhausted. Of course, everything would be a fight with her. He shouldn't have expected anything less. Some part of him felt like he was drowning in the ocean looking for something, anything, to keep afloat; keep the conversation from turning sour.

Women were truly impossible to understand.

However, there was something about this one that had made him want to sit through this. And it wasn't just because she had saved his ass once again.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

There it was.

She was so unexpected and, although like other girls she had the tendency to say too much and gripe at him, she was different in that he couldn't quite predict her patterns.

Normal things like compliments had most women flustered but Temari would simply beat him.

He respected her for that along with her brains and high ranking position. She could pull her own weight on a team.

She was definitely a complex puzzle and he was sure he could spend his whole life trying to solve it. Of course, he knew that there was never one answer or explanation to a person.

"Don't be. I'm not very good at this either," he said.

"And here I was thinking you'd have everything planned out from the second I walked through the gates."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin. This isn't exactly like strategizing for war," he admitted. "What do people normally talk about with this sort of thing?" He asked, throwing the ball in her court.

"How should I know?"

"You're the girl."

"Stupid, that has nothing to do with it!" she bonked him over the head with her fist, not too hard though. What aggravated her was that maybe he did have a point. She wouldn't know. Temari had very few friends growing up and the majority of which were male.

Her knowledge about girly things and what girls like to talk about was very poor and limited. However, with some confidence she managed to supply, "But from what I've heard, people usually talk about their interests. Although that would be a waste of time, since I clearly know way more about you than you know about me."

* * *

And that's how it began, as it usually did, with a challenge.

As they bantered back and forth, all the tension began floated away. Despite talking a big game Temari actually did learn a few new things. Apparently his mother had fed him one too many hard boiled eggs as a child, resulting in the immense hate he had for them now.

Shikamaru had been quite surprised when she revealed, besides training, her next favourite hobby was botany.

"What even grows in Suna? Do you collect roots and cactus?"

"Cacti happen to be very interesting!" she protested as their food arrived.

At this point, their server didn't know what to believe. One minute they're at each other's throats and the next they're laughing? Nevertheless, she would definitely take this friendly atmosphere over the previous hostility.

Though it had seemed like minutes, in reality, a little over an hour had passed by the time they were finished. They had talked about everything from work to politics to personal stories.

Maybe this was how it would be with them. The dynamic of the relationship didn't have to change drastically. Now the two realized why everyone had been so quick to see what had taken them years to realize.

They had been acting like a couple for years.

Albeit realizing this fact, it was still bizarre for Temari to have someone else pay for her lunch. Even as she kept reminding herself, '_this is a date_' '_this is what's supposed to happen_', she couldn't help but to feel like she was being the victim of some sort of charity.

There had been very few meals and items in her life that she hadn't earned with her own hard work and money. Though this feeling wasn't bad per say, it just wasn't normal.

Shikamaru was just happy she let it happen without a fight.

Despite coming to Konoha, knowing she had a pre-planned lunch date, Temari's trip was far from being a vacation.

The rest of her day was to be chocked full of meetings.

Her situation irked her, to say the least.

One of these days she vowed to plan a stay with no business obligations. Although, from the amount of work she had at the moment that might be the day she retires.

Ever the gentleman, Shikamaru had offered to walk her to the Hokage's office.

They both agreed that he should leave before she went in to see Kakashi.

The fifth would be more likely to tease them if he was there.

The two were quite happy with how the afternoon had gone even though it had started off on a laughably bad note.

This whole dating thing was actually easier than they had expected.

Eat, talk then do some activity after. Though their time for today was coming to a close, Temari couldn't help but wonder about one more thing.

He was a genius, so surely Shikamaru was on the same page as her, most likely twenty pages ahead. As they reached the front doors to the building she turned to face him.

"Thanks for today."

"Mm," he replied, brain elsewhere.

* * *

Wasn't he supposed to do it now?

From the very few movies she had seen, Temari knew the basic structure of what the average date should look like.

You do something together and then the guy walks the girl home and –

Apparently, he just stands there with his hands in his pockets.

Tch, she should have known her life would be nothing like what the actors and actresses portrayed. Based off of their lunch, that much should have been crystal clear.

But come on!

Wasn't this the part of the date that men enjoyed the most?

* * *

She was definitely going to slap him.

Would it be worth it?

The irrational, emotional part of him shouted yes but his logical side was working overtime, weighing all the options. What if she got insulted?

Some girls weren't looking for this on a first date.

What would he do if she gave him the cold shoulder for the rest of her stay, for months, forever?

But how long had he been waiting for this moment? It was an almost embarrassingly long amount of time. Right now the unhappy look on her face wasn't making his dilemma any easier to solve.

Well, he was a glutton for punishment it seemed so he might as well try.

* * *

In a moment of pure frustration, she stomped forwards, pulled him down by the neck of his shirt and all but stole that kiss from him.

It wasn't very sweet and he certainly wasn't expecting this but it was very Temari.

And just because it wasn't shy and hesitant did not mean that the kiss wasn't every bit as amazing as what they had envisioned.

Despite initially being caught off guard, he caught on to her mood quickly.

People in the street looked on with shock and embarrassment. Several onlookers murmured amongst each other. A group of teenage girls giggled loudly as they walked past the two.

Pushed up, practically pinned to the wall of Hokage tower was something couldn't have imagined in her wildest dreams, certainly it wasn't what she had expected from today.

Truly it was amazing what years of anticipation and pent up emotions could do.

Both were completely red and flushed when they broke apart. Her heart was racing and she inwardly cursed herself for doing this before a meeting.

The fifth wasn't dumb and even an idiot could tell what she had been up to.

Thankfully Shikamaru looked even more flustered than her. His usual composed mask had been stripped away to be replaced by a dumbstruck stare.

All she could do was laugh at his expression.

Giving him a smirk, she went up on her toes to quickly peck him on the cheek before turning on her heal through the front doors.

He was only faintly aware that the corners of his mouth had twitched up in a foolish content smile.


	15. Dead Give Away

These dinners were becoming common place now.

Even though he still thought she was tyrannical, Shikamaru had made a point of returning to his childhood home to have a meal with his mother at least once a week.

He wasn't controlled by his stomach unlike Choji; his mother had never been that great of a cook.

Despite being a proud woman, he knew that his mother got lonely from time to time in such a large house by herself. Now, ever since Temari had moved to Konoha, he could drag his wife along to these excursions. Well, it was more like her dragging him. Those two got on frighteningly well.

Although dinners with his mother were generally pleasant if not loud occasions, it was the frequency of these visits that had both him and Temari slightly nervous.

When they had found out Temari was pregnant they had both been reasonably emotional.

Their excitement had given way to reason, as it always did, and both decided to wait the two months to tell everyone. The only problem was that they saw his mother every week and she was a shrewd lady.

Shikamaru had seen her pull the wool over his father's eyes before, not often, but even once would have been a feat for anyone.

It was incredibly hard to mask Temari's morning sickness. Once, in the middle of dinner, she had bolted upright and proclaimed that she had left the oven on. He could only imagine her running out the door only to be sick in the garden.

There were only so many times excuses like that would work. Another time Yoshino had served sake with dinner.

Honestly, he still didn't know how they had managed to get around that. He had returned home more than a little tipsy that night.

But they wouldn't be able to keep this going for much longer.

Usually a calm man, Shikamaru wasn't prepared for how much it irked him to hear his mother complain about Ino's pregnancy.

Couldn't the woman just be happy for his friend and hold off for a couple more days? Patience was too much to ask for from his mother who all but demanded he produce an heir to appease his father who was, according to her, rolling in his grave.

Of course, this was all done when the two were alone. She wouldn't dare say any of it to Temari.

It was rather unfair, he got yelled at while his wife was given constant sympathy and praise for putting up with his lazy self.

* * *

Tonight was a disaster.

Part of him thought his mother had figured out their secret and had prepared all of this just to spite him.

Sake, seafood and some barbequed meat which appeared to be showcasing a layer of charcoal, all of the food Temari was not allowed to eat.

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered urgently as they sat down at the table.

His brain worked overtime on finding solutions to avoid the buffet of death. At the moment, the only thing he could think of was faking a medical emergency to avoid dinner all together.

But that would be too suspicious and he was a horrible actor. Across the table, his mother happily dished out the food, unaware of their dilemma. He watched with horror as she placed a rather large portion of mercury ridden seafood onto Temari's plate.

"Fake a medical emergency?" he supplied, half serious.

Temari gave him a look that told him she thought it was a ridiculous idea as Yoshino settled down into her own chair and began to eat. After a few moments she realized that the other two hadn't touched their plates.

"Is something wrong?"

Her tone of voice suggested that she was already offended. Jeez, this was becoming more trouble than it was worth.

"Of course not," Temari quickly replied.

He looked over to her, hoping she had come up with some brilliant plan to get them out of this. "I'm just not feeling too well." Guess not. However, Yoshino instantly went into mother hen mode.

"Oh, do you have a fever? You look a little flushed."

Probably because she was faced with a pile of strong smelling seafood that was about to make her sick, he thought.

"Or maybe you have a stomach ache," she questioned, "let me have a look."

"NO!"

The room went completely silent as Temari's protest rang out. He would have laughed any other time at seeing his mother's face so in shock.

"No, I'm sorry, it's not my stomach. I'm sure it's nothing serious." Yoshino did not look convinced. The older woman reached over the table and placed the palm of her hand on Temari's forehead.

"You're burning up," she accused. "Shikamaru, how could you let this happen?"

"How is any of this my fault?" he questioned, startled by being suddenly reeled into all of this.

"You know what Yoshino," Temari intervened as the glare between mother and son grew in ferocity, "I think you're right. It must be a fever. I'll just get myself a glass of water and rest a while when we get home."

The other woman seemed slightly appeased for the moment and Temari could only exhale in relief.

Stripping off her sweater she rose from the table to get herself some water.

It was the gasp his mother gave that made him realize what a fatal flaw that had been.

In all the chaos Temari must have forgotten why she had been wearing that in the first place. His mother's eyes had zeroed in on her, small but very visible, baby bump.

Usually people didn't start to show quite so early but he faintly recalled the nurse had said something about forward tilting uteruses before he had chosen to zone out.

Perhaps it was just fate.

His wife turned to him in sheer panic. All he could do was watch his mother's reaction with something akin to awe.

Her mouth was wide open. All the blood had left her face, giving her a slightly undead look.

She tried to form words, her mouth moved but no sound came out. Then, all of a sudden, her face got its original color back and began to grow red.

"You're pregnant?" her voice was not above a whisper as she looked at Temari.

Then she rounded on him. Shikamaru felt like a child again, a child who had done something horribly, horribly wrong.

"SHE'S PREGNANT?!"

Without warning she burst out of her chair and enveloped Temari in a hug. He could see from his position that his mother was crying. Great just what he needed, another emotional woman.

"How could you not tell me?" she questioned angrily, whacking him on the head.

"Ouch! It was too early, woman. Why couldn't you have just waited a few more days? Troublesome."

"Don't you 'troublesome' me! There are things you tell your mother no matter what."

"Just be happy that you know now, okay?"

Sometime in the middle of their argument Temari had gone to get herself that glass of water.

"Well our cover is blown now," she said.

His mom dropped their fight like a hot potato and rounded on his wife.

"I'm so happy for you," she gushed.

Shikamaru took it upon himself to clear the table of the food that would obviously not to be eaten. It made him happy that his mother and wife got along well. He still felt bad for keeping her here with him in Konoha. At least he could give her a sort of mother figure.

"How far are you?"

"About twelve weeks."

The waterworks started up again and he soon found himself being squeezed. He could only define the whole situation as awkward.

His mother loved him sure but she didn't hug. She whacked him for being lazy and that was just how it was.

"When...," she started.

Somehow he knew what she was asking.

Despite things not going according to plan, this newfound ability to brag about their child pleased him.

"May fifth is the due date they gave us."

"Ha!" his mother crowded, making them both jump. "That's only a couple weeks after Ino! Her mother has been bragging non-stop. I can't wait to see the look on her face!"

She was still on about that.

"Well, you two grannies can squabble about this all you want but try not to tell the entire village."

"Who are you calling a granny?" his mother growled. "I'll be grandma Yoshino and I won't accept anything else."

"I'm glad," up until this point Temari had been relatively silent throughout their exchange. "I'm glad he or she will have a grandparent."

It wasn't unusual for children to not have any grandparents, especially since the war. But while he had his clan, Temari's own family was very small. The numbers had only dwindled as she grew up. "Sorry," she apologized, rubbing her hands across her eyes as they began to tear up.

These past few days she told him she had cried more than she ever had in her life.

Honestly, he was doing his best to be there for her but the sight still caught him off guard. As he stood there frozen his mother quickly jumped into action.

Part of him was amazed that Temari allowed his mother to soothingly stroke her hair and sit her down on the couch. It wasn't long until his mother had coddled Temari into a near comatose state.

His wife lay peacefully, lightly snoring.

"Shikamaru," his mother's voice made him look up, "I didn't really say what I wanted to earlier. I'm very proud. I know your father would have been to. You'll be a good dad. Thank you for giving me another person to nag at in our family," she joked.

Was it just him or had the room gotten stuffy? Rather embarrassed, he brought his hand up to scratch the back of his neck.

"Heh, you're going to spoil the kid rotten, aren't you?"

"What sort of question is that? Of course I will. I'm the only grandparent after all and that baby's only other blood relatives will be a three days journey away."

"You're going to have your hands full...speaking of which," looking down at his sleeping wife, "we better get going."

Their house was only a short walk across the compound so he made to shake Temari awake.

"You can't wake her up," his mom whispered.

"Well, she can't stay here. Tem," he said quietly. "We need to go."

His only answer was a low groan.

"Tch, you're always so difficult." Without waiting he scooped her up from the couch and made his way to the door.

"Goodnight, make sure you get home safe."

"Mom we're not even fifty steps away," he sighed, "goodnight."


	16. King

She was at home preparing dinner when it had happened. Truthfully, she wasn't too surprised since there had been cramping this morning. It was normal at this stage but when the tightening in her stomach persisted it left little room in her mind for doubt. Shikamaru would be angry with her.

Every day, or so it seemed, he told her to call him if any little thing happened. She knew him all too well and she had thought she knew her own body. If she called him every time something unexpected happened, the Hokage would have no advisor.

But as she stood in the kitchen, clutching her stomach, water broken, Temari realized that now was definitely the time to make that phone call. When she dialed him the expected response was what she got.

"What do you mean your water's broken? That means you'd have had to be contracting for..." he said slowly, voice dropping off.

"Temari," his tone was aggravated and worried all at once. There would be no reasoning with him like this. Whatever he said next never processed in her mind as she took a harsh intake of breath.

And this was only the beginning she thought grimly. No amount of monthly stomach cramps could have prepared her for this.

"- Mari? Temari? Hey, are you okay? Don't move. I'm coming home right now." She would have been happy to remain stationary. However, she could probably get more done by herself right now than he could in his frantic state. Luckily Shikamaru had the foresight to pack a bag for the hospital weeks in advance.

But there were only a couple things she had the time to grab before said man burst through the door.

"What are you doing?" he had trouble forming the words since he was so out of breath.

She followed his gaze to the bag she had over her shoulder. His eyes were slightly wild.

"I'm getting ready. I'm not giving birth in our kitchen, these things take time; hours."

God, how was she going to do this for hours? Without a word he took the bag from her and took a deep breath.

She was glad that he was attempting to get back to his rational self but another part of her wanted him to still be freaking out. That way she wouldn't be able to focus on the panic rising within herself.

"Maybe we should just wait here for a bit?" The longer they were at home, away from the hospital, the farther she would be away from the agonizing pain. "The contractions are not even that close apart," she was aware that she was babbling, "I can't really even feel them," the pitch of her voice rising, "this is probably just a false alarm." Soon she was taking large gulps of air but none of it seemed to be getting to her lungs.

"Hey, look at me," he said sternly.

With his hands on either side of her face, she followed his example of slow breathing, long inhale through the nose, hold it, and then exhale through the mouth.

"This is happening and we're going to go to the hospital. Everything is going to be fine." She wished she could agree with that statement.

As another contraction ripped through her, all she could do was clench her teeth and nod.

* * *

How did women do this?

It had been six hours already and no baby. From what their nurse had told her she was hardly even half way ready to push. To Shikamaru's credit he hadn't said anything as she paced around the room like a mad person.

Lying down was unbearable, sitting was uncomfortable, walking wasn't too much better but at least it made her feel somewhat productive.

The only non encouraging words he had spoken were to his mother over the phone.

"No, nothing is happening yet," from the corner of her eye she could see his knuckles turning white.

He paused and Temari could hear Yoshino's voice from the other end of the receiver.

"Mom," he said exasperated, "you being here will not make things happen any faster. No I'm not just saying this to keep you at home. I'm saying it to save you from sitting in a waiting room for hours!"

She almost laughed when his mother's answering yell caused him to hold the phone at arm's length.

"I'm coming over!" was all she could decipher.

"Mom, don't you –

She could hear the line go dead. Even though Temari was in pain, she still wanted to offer him some support. Her husband groaned in frustration, rubbing his tired eyes. It was already midnight and he had gotten up early for work so he must be exhausted.

"Having her here might not be so bad. I mean she has done this before..." With that whatever thought he had been thinking about seemed to vanish.

"Sorry, you're right. She just always ends up yelling at me and I didn't want to give you any extra stress."

"Trust me; I don't think that's possible. My stress level is already at a ten."

"Should I go get a doctor?" Before she had a chance to answer, she was interrupted by a tapping on the door.

"Knock Knock," her mother in-law sang. Either labour was messing with her perspective of time or Yoshino had sprinted here.

"How did you get here so fast?" Shikamaru asked, bewildered.

"I've been in the waiting room for hours."

"You called me from the waiting room?!"

Yoshino narrowed her eyes at his disrespectful tone. Temari was actually happy to have her here. Since she didn't have a mother of her own, it was Yoshino who had explained the ins and outs of pregnancy to her.

She knew she could trust her mother in-law to cheer her on through the delivery.

"Shikamaru Nara, I have been sitting so long I can hardly feel my legs. Do not use that tone of voice with me."

Temari could see her husband opening his mouth to reply before her moan of pain effectively distracted the two from their argument.

Shikamaru attested that he was nothing like his mother, but as the two tried their hardest to ease her discomfort, she couldn't disagree with him more.

The hands on the clock moved unfairly slow. How many hours, days had it been? Several nurses had come and gone. She could have screamed when one told her,

"These things just take time. We don't know what makes some people faster than others."

Well they better damn well figure it out and bottle it up.

The oxygen mask that was supposed to help control her breathing did nothing for the pain. And the medication she had been given had helped earlier but now was proving to be extremely ineffective.

Why did she do this?

Breaking bones, in fact any injury she had ever attained in battle, couldn't hope to measure up to this torture. The only thing that was keeping her going was Shikamaru reminding her that when this was all over she would have a son.

She had to do this for her baby. As she began to lose control of the yelps of agony that left her lips it was all she had.

Everything non essential to this moment was pushed out of her mind. She didn't really care where she was, much less who was in the room with her.

The only thing constant in her universe was the enormous pressure in the base of her stomach and the tensing of her injured muscles. If she wasn't in her current situation, she would notice that the two other occupants of the room were both almost equally exhausted.

When the doctor returned to check in she prayed to some higher power that it was finally good news.

"Eighteen hours; you're a trooper," she said appreciatively.

How had she been doing this for so long?

Not for the first time tonight she felt like dissolving into tears.

"You have to do something doctor," Temari pleaded, "You got to give me drugs or just - just cut me open and take it out."

The woman simply smiled at her with pity and understanding.

"Actually, I think you're ready to go to the delivery room."

"What?" Temari, Shikamaru and Yoshino questioned at once. The doctor almost laughed at the trio but wisely chose not to.

"Yup, you're there. You're about to be a mom."

* * *

"Okay, Temari you have to push through the contraction," the doctor ordered.

But how could she when it felt like she was getting hit by a train? Her head collapsed back onto the pillow in total exhaustion.

"I can't," she whimpered, "I can't push anymore. I can't."

"Tem you're doing great," Shikamaru encouraged her.

She would apologize after for the bones she had most likely crushed in his hand. Right now the only thought she had in her mind was never again, never again would she be doing this.

She was panting, sweating and couldn't fathom how her mother had done this not once but three times.

"Here we go!" The doctor announced.

Though before she started to push again, Temari could see the woman's furrowed brow, grimaced mouth and couldn't help from yelling,

"What? What could it possibly be now?!" she growled.

"He's just in a more difficult position so you're going to have to push even harder okay?" What did that lady think she had been doing all this time?

"Okay," she supplied through gritted teeth.

Leaning forwards she pushed down with all of her strength, trying to ignore the feeling that her stomach was being ripped apart.

"Nothing is happening you're going to have to push harder."

And that was it.

She had promised Shikamaru and even herself that she wouldn't be one of those women who lost her mind in labour.

But this was the straw that broke the Sunan woman's back.

"WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT I CAN'T?!"

To the doctor's credit, she appeared unphased. The lady was a veteran; no doubt this happened all the time.

"YOU," she glared at her husband who, despite looking scared never stopped stroking her hand, "YOU DID THIS TO ME! NEVER AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"That's good Temari!" The doctor praised. Apparently all she had needed was the rage to give her that extra power. "Whatever you're doing, keep at it."

"THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED TO ME! I HATE YOU."

All of a sudden a huge pressure was alleviated and she abruptly felt weightless.

"You did it," she heard him whisper.

The shrill cries of her baby filled the room and it was music to her ears. Nurses rushed around the room and the screaming red infant was quickly placed on her chest. He was finally here.

Her baby...and some other stuff she'd pretend not to see. Too soon a nurse came and took him from her.

"Wait. Where are they going? Why did she take him?" she demanded anxiously.

"Shh, Tem they're just wrapping him up," he murmured, wiping the hair off her forehead.

When he leaned in and kissed her the last few minutes started to come back.

"I'm sorry," she said earnestly, "I didn't mean what I said. Well, I meant what I said about never doing this again but all the other stuff wasn't true."

"It's okay. I know."

Both stopped talking as the nurse came back with their baby all bundled up in a clean white blanket. Temari didn't know how it happened but when she was looking at his little face somehow all those hours of suffering suddenly faded away.

Shikadai.

He already had dark hair and seeing as he took little under nineteen hours to get here she assumed that laziness was another trait he had inherited from his father. A familiar set of eyes stared back at her. Not for the first time tonight, tears welled up in her eyes but these were happy.

She wanted to hold him forever but she knew that Shikamaru was probably dying inside, patiently waiting to hold him as well.

"Take him."

Seeing the pride in his glistening eyes was the second greatest thing to happen to her today. She closed her eyes and could faintly hear him speaking to their son in hushed tones.

At some point, between her slipping in and out of consciousness, Yoshino had come in. The Nara matriarch had cried like the rest of them. Thankfully, she hadn't come empty handed. Temari had almost forgotten what food tasted like.

Part of her thought the woman had brought the food as a type of bribe. She must have known her son never be able to balance a sandwich and a baby. Yoshino had gone home yesterday at one in the morning, stopping by throughout the afternoon. Now here she was again at two am.

"To think only nineteen hours later here you are," her mother in-law smiled at the baby, "almost a whole day later, even longer than you dad." Temari looked at her husband who obviously hadn't heard the jab as he was now fast asleep in his chair, sandwich half unfinished.

She should be sleeping but for whatever reason she felt wide awake. Yoshino explained that the excitement followed by the rush of hormones accompanied by the birth was bound to make any new mother feel a bit wired.

The two women idly chatted for a while before the elder went home for the evening.

Finally she had her baby back in her arms.

He was about a week past the estimated due date making his birthday three days before his uncle Kankuro. Despite being late, he seemed very small to her.

The doctor had promised that six pounds seven ounces was a good healthy weight but she didn't fully believe her. Nonetheless, he was utter perfection.

She could just look at him for hours on end. His skin was now a flushed pink instead of angry tomato red.

He had the tiniest cutest little fingers and toes.

She felt a little bad as he began to squirm, the result of her constant caressing.

"Sorry, sorry," she whispered as he began to fuss. "Your mom is new to all of this too, you know?"

In her whole life never had she ever experienced a love like this. She had been too humiliated to admit, even to Shikamaru, her worries about becoming a parent.

What if she was like her father and didn't have a connection with her child? Or worse, what if the baby didn't like her? Growing up as she did, Temari never envisioned herself with this sort of conventional life. She hadn't believed that anyone could love her. As a young teenager she imagined that she would have a demanding career that would take up all her time, then she would retire alone.

Now it all seemed foolish. She had found love and there was no way she would ever be lonely. As she held her baby, some maternal chord hidden deep inside her was plucked. How could she think that there was a possibility of not feeling connected to her own child?

"I'm going to love you so much. You'll probably complain and get embarrassed by me when you're older. Shikadai," she combed through his fuzz with her fingers, "I promise I'll always be there for you. You're such a lucky baby. You have a grandma and uncles who love you, your daddy loves you..." Her only response was him smacking his lips, newborn eyes still too unfocused to look directly at her.

"What a rare sight, Temari Nara showing a singular moment of sentimentality in public."

She would have swatted him playfully on the head if her arms weren't occupied.

He looked much better after a couple hours of sleep.

"Have you been up all this time?" His tone was disapproving. "He's not going anywhere."

Somehow he managed to drape his large body onto

the bed next to her. Although, she was sure that some of him was slipping off the edge.

Shikamaru did his best not to jostle the two as he put an arm around her shoulder.

At last her body completely relaxed and a yawn escaped her.

"I guess I am a little tired." Now that she was paying attention to it she felt the aching in her muscles. Her eyes were also sore. "We need to send a message to my brothers."

"Mom already took care of that."

"That woman is a saint."

"Tch, whatever you say."

"She is your _mother_," Temari understood the weight of that word now, "and she went through hell to bring you into this world try to show a little more respect." Instead of disputing her he simply squeezed her shoulder and brought his head down to the crook of her neck.

Both sat in content silence for a while admiring the little person they had created. Temari could barely keep her eyes open at this point.

"I can't believe you did that," he murmured. "That was just about the most terrifying thing I've ever seen and I couldn't do anything. Guess it comes as no surprise though."

"How's your hand?" From her half closed lids she could see it was swollen.

"Don't," he protested, "you can't think of anyone else but yourself right now okay?"

It wasn't his usual manner of speaking and it told her that his words were not up for discussion.

"Alright cry baby. You win, as usual."

After a long wait she finally allowed herself to drift off. This was true happiness.

"Tem," she was so drained that she couldn't even acknowledge that she had heard him, "thank you," but of course she had.

* * *

**Thanks so much to everyone reading - any suggestions or requests are welcomed and appreciated! :)**


	17. The Secret Garden

The transformation was incredible. Being a very old and prestigious family, the Nara grounds were by no means ugly. Perhaps they weren't as large and extravagant as the Hyuuga clan's but they weren't small either.

The forests came with their own natural beauty. Wildflowers grew in small clumps and the occasional pond and river was frequented by interesting aquatic plants.

What had changed was the front garden at the entrance of the main house.

He should have known.

The look in her eyes had said it all. Those eyes were like Tenten in a weapons shop, Ino in the clothing district, Chouji looking at food. Temari had been completely floored when they walked into the nursery. Surely, she had never seen so many different varieties of plants in her life.

Just recently married, he wanted her to feel more at home here in Konoha with him. So that was how the control of the front garden had come to be hers. Hopefully by giving her the chance to put some personal touches on their home she would feel more at ease.

Temari had been very adamant when she demanded her finished product be a surprise. That bossy way of hers was endearing to him at the time; naturally he gave her what she wanted. And he had to hand it to her.

Temari had knack for arrangement and a definite talent. Not that he had been worried. Even if their garden had displeased their neighbours he wouldn't have cared. But now he was sure that, if they were looking, it would be in envy.

The colours ranged from deep violets and reds to soft yellows and pinks. Roses now adorned the arch that marked the entrance to their home. He knew very little about flowers but he could pick out some of the common ones, foxgloves, poppies, peonies and lilies. The stone path that led up to the door was now bordered by small white flowers.

Despite each plant being meticulously placed, the whole space still managed to feel very natural. The woman responsible was only a few feet away spade in hand and hands covered with dirt.

She very much belonged in this sort of secret garden. His footsteps must have alerted her as she quickly looked up from her work.

Temari then mistook his look of awe for distaste.

"It's too much isn't it?" she questioned.

For whatever reason he was having trouble finding his words, a problem Temari never seemed to have. Shikamaru didn't even know what she was talking about as he was only looking at her; equating it to still being in the honeymoon phase. What was too much?

"You hate it. Well, don't just stand there and stare at me like an idiot," she huffed, standing up and rubbing her hands on her pants."Tch, what a waste, you'll have to do something about it then because I am not tearing all this up."

"What are you even talking about?"

Damage control! Damage control! She was already stomping off towards the house. "Temari, I haven't even said anything," he called out frantically.

Stopping dead in her tracks, she twirled around, a deadly storm.

"And that says everything in itself, doesn't it?"

To anyone less trained in the art that was his wife's facial expressions, the glint in her eyes would have been mistaken for anger. But he knew by now that flash was just a cover for the real emotion; hurt.

She was such a frustrating woman, so difficult, so terrifying but so beautiful.

"You shouldn't just assume everything. If you had given me a chance to speak I would have told you that this is probably the best this yard has ever looked." He tried to rub off the smear of dirt on her cheek.

"Oh."

It was almost funny how fast her temperament could change, just like the weather. Eyes downturned, lips pressed in a firm line, feet shuffling, it was almost like she wanted to test the limits of his restraint.

"You're impossible you know that right? Look at me troublesome."

He was a fool but couldn't really bring himself to care. Of course he knew those teal orbs would be his undoing so call him self-destructive. Some things in life were worth relinquishing a little control. How that woman still managed to look sultry with her dirt smeared face and old gardening clothes was a mystery and when she turns those eyes on him...irresistible.

"And you're hopeless," she smirked easily able to discern his intense gaze for what it was. She was not so naive as to not know the influence she had.

"Guess so," he leaned down almost involuntarily, as if Temari had somehow learned to use his possession jutsu.

She was roses. From a distance, people were easily fooled by her outer appearance. That straw blond hair, exotic eyes, and toned physique was designed to draw people in. If you weren't careful she was all thorns, drawing blood and making you regret trying to get close. But this would be all in vain. Because no matter how hard you tried to forget, reason with yourself that other flowers could be just as beautiful, nothing could compare. Bright red, layers upon layers of petals, tiers of a personality waiting to be revealed if only someone was brave enough to battle the barbs. Ino was always going on about the language of flowers. For once, he could agree with her assertions. The red rose was love, beauty, courage and respect, everything she was. He wasn't even aware that he had taken a step back until she callously broke their kiss.

"You're stepping on my azaleas!"

There goes that moment. She quickly bent down and picked up all her tools, leaving him slightly bemused. On her way into the house her hand brushed over his shoulder, fingers trailing.

"Try not to step on anything else when you come in," the tone was joking. She smirked and winked, eyebrows rising mischievously.

Yes he would say that this garden project was a success.


	18. Don't Leave Me

He had done it, well they had. The world was saved for the second time in two years. No chunks of rock were falling from the sky, all thanks to five people.

It had happened so fast, him being summoned for a lethal mission and her being bound by duty to remain in Suna. Words couldn't begin to express the constant anxiety she had felt those twenty four hours. How could she focus on anyone or anything when she was miles and miles away, unable to save him if something were to happen?

Despite the fate of humanity standing on the tip of a needle, somehow Temari found the time to obsess over where he was.

Even when their success had been broadcasted, she was wound up so tight that she couldn't allow herself to feel total relief. Yes, she smiled with everyone else but inside everything was utter turmoil. Physical proof, she reasoned. That was what she needed to finally be at peace.

However, the damage done by all the fallen asteroids would take weeks mend. As a high ranking official in Sunagakure, Temari would be stationed here until everything was back to normal. She oversaw almost all of the reconstruction and, most days, went home completely drained.

To his credit, no matter how blunt and void of sentiment, he did write her.

* * *

_Temari, _

_ The mission was a success, as you know. Everything is good in Konoha. When are you coming back? _

_ Shikamaru_

* * *

Well, neither of them was known for their way with words.

But as she made her way across the desert it wasn't words she was having difficulty with. How was she supposed to act when she saw him? There were too many conflicting emotions ricocheting inside her. A part of her wanted to maim him. Unfold her fan to three stars and send him flying for making her a nervous wreck. Another part wanted to just hold onto him and never let go, denying him the opportunity to put himself in that kind of danger again.

This was the part of caring for other people she didn't miss. When everything went right it was wonderful but when things went wrong...

Then she saw him.

Why wasn't he waiting for her at the gate? She wasn't ready yet.

There were still so many things that she had to figure out, what to say, how to act. The gall of him, who did he think he was? He just stood there in front of her, unbothered, as if these last few weeks hadn't happened. Her heart began to pound, in excitement or anger she did not know.

All she was certain of was that she had to get away. So she did the most un-Temari-like thing she could think of and ran.

Everything was a blur, the trees, her feet striking the ground, his yells. How pathetic! This wasn't her.

Who was this weak girl who fled from her feelings? Abruptly her sprinting came to a sudden stop. She recognized this kind of helplessness, having felt it once before years ago. Black lines tethered them together. Temari put up some resistance at first before conceding that she wouldn't win the battle.

If he wanted something he would have it eventually.

"Why the hell did you run like that?" Shikamaru rasped his tone uncharacteristically abrasive.

He had yet to release his hold as he didn't trust her not to run off. Even though he had control over her body and has forced her to stand in front of him. He couldn't make her eyes to meet his. It was childish, she knew. Right now she definitely wasn't acting like the older of the two. "I don't know what's going on with you. But that definitely wasn't the greeting I had expected." He let out a sigh and she could already imagine he was thinking that dealing with her was a drag. "Let's just go back to town. You wouldn't make a man eat alone would you?"

She saw the shadows retreat across the forest floor and felt her freedom return. What didn't return was her uncertainty. She knew exactly how she felt now; livid.

"I'm not in the mood for food or a man," she quipped.

Despite her words, she stomped in the direction of the village gates.

"Hey, whatever it is that I did I'm sorry."

And now he had to go make her feel like the villain. In all honesty, although she hated being at the receiving end of his jutsu, she was angrier at herself. This was all because she was absolutely hopeless.

"This is about the moon mission isn't it?"

What she wouldn't give for his ability to read people. Like the cruel kunoichi she was, she continued to walk while he did his best to make up for a problem that was entirely her own. "I know that these past few years have been a nightmare. We're both top choices to be sent into the front lines when something goes wrong. And usually we don't see things the same way but I'm not that weak chuunin you saved years ago, at some point you're going to have to trust me."

"That's what you think this is about, that I don't trust you?" Finally she rounded on him, eyes flashing.

"That's not what it's about?"

"No! Idiot, of course I trust you." There weren't many times when Shikamaru looked at a loss but now was one of them. Temari let out a sigh. She hated it, making him feel this way. Carefully he reached out towards her but she stepped back. She didn't deserve to be comforted by him.

"If you trust me so much then why do you keep pulling away from me?" he shouted.

"Because everyone I've ever been close to is dead!"

Her words rang out between them, seeming to echo off the trees.

She hadn't been upset she had been terrified.

"My mother, my uncle, my father," her throat felt tight as the list continued, "Kankuro was almost poisoned...I watched Gaara come back from the dead only to lose my grandmother." At this point there was no masking the wavering in her voice. "I've lost almost everyone and can't do it anymore. I – I can't lose you too." His confusion was replaced by understanding as a gentle smile worked its way across his face.

"Temari," he looked her straight in the eyes, leaving no room for doubt, "you don't have to worry about me. I seem to have unusual luck when it comes to others saving me. So if there's one thing I'm good at it is staying alive."

When their lips connected it was desperation on her part. She tried to make him feel a fraction of what she was. '_Don't leave me. Don't do that to me again_.' Eventually her distress was assuaged by his closeness, the familiar way he ran his fingers through her hair. Held protectively in his arms, she felt rather than saw his smile against her forehead.

"Would I have gotten any tears at my funeral?"

"You shouldn't joke about those things," she huffed, not making any move to get out of his embrace.

"Is that a no then?" Temari could only roll her eyes at such a question.

"If the roles were reversed, you'd probably cry like a baby."

"Most likely," he admitted without shame, taking her hand in his own.

They had only taken a couple steps before he continued, "Poor Shikamaru Nara, he dedicated his life to those around him and his own girlfriend doesn't even shed a tear –

"You're insufferable," she interrupted him.

Temari was well aware that her face was flushed. "I can't believe I would give you the honour of crying at your funeral, happy now?"

"Very," he murmured, smiling up at the sky.


	19. Sharing Dad

Shikadai was not a spoiled child, when it came to his parents, by any means. Unlike Boruto Uzumaki he didn't cling to his father when he left for work. Shikadai could understand that his dad was busy.

He couldn't spend as much time with his dad as other kids got to with theirs. His father wouldn't come home till late at night, and even though he would always check in on him, Shikadai was usually fast asleep.

What was a five year old to do? Usually he had his mom home but it wasn't the same because he already had all of her attention. And he was big now so he couldn't cry to get what he wanted. It wasn't until his mother made a short trip to visit uncle Gaara and uncle Kankuro that he thought he had figured out the true reason for his anger.

It was Mirai Sarutobi.

She acted like she was so much better than him just because she was older. He couldn't understand why his dad treated her as if she belonged to this family. Why did his dad always play shogi with her? Why did he always have the time to train with her when she asked?

Maybe it was the stubbornness that he had inherited from his mother but he refused to ask for attention. However, he had no problem expressing his dislike for Mirai.

Dad was going to work and she was babysitting him today. Shikadai felt he didn't need to be looked after, much less by her.

The boy was more than a little upset that his dad had left without so much as a second glance at him. However, Shikamaru had turned to Mirai and thanked her. After he was gone, she turned towards the little boy all smiles. He wasn't falling for it.

"What do you want to do Shikadai?" She asked cheerfully.

He stared blankly at her, eyebrows knitted. He wouldn't talk and he wasn't going anywhere with her.

"Are you excited that your mom is coming home today? Do you want to play outside?" All she got was silence.

"Are you hungry?"

Realizing that they weren't getting anywhere Mirai put away her shoes and walked towards him.

"Let's go play," she smiled. When she grabbed his hand she expected him to reluctantly follow her. He was just like uncle Shikamaru, all complaining but no real action.

What she hadn't counted on was him hitting her hand away.

"No!" He didn't want her. She shouldn't even be in his house. There were three chairs around the table not four. When she held his wrist he struggled in vain.

"No! No! No! No!"

"No, what?" She was not about to have a power struggle with a toddler. Seeing him shout at her and pout wasn't what she wanted but this type of behaviour wasn't something she condoned.

The boy slumped in her hold and put all his weight onto the floor. She wasn't going to get anywhere with him like this. Fine, she'd let him have a temper tantrum for a little while.

It was only a couple weeks ago that she had noticed a change in him. Shikadai was such a sweet baby, content to be anywhere with anyone. Even his terrible twos hadn't been too bad. But when he turned five, he stopped playing with her and hardly spoke to her unless Temari prodded him.

From her seat on the couch she could still see him lying face down on the floor.

"You're being silly. What's wrong?" She couldn't understand his response as Shikadai was muttering into the floor boards. "What's that? Use your words please."

"Go away!"

Without looking at her he ran out into the backyard and the forest beyond. She wasn't a part of their family so Shikadai reasoned that Mirai didn't know the woods like he did. Hiding in a clump of bushes near the boundaries of the Nara land, he was confident she wouldn't find him.

Viciously pulling grass from the ground, he sat and festered. Even when his stomach started to growl he refused to budge. He didn't want to be bad but it wasn't fair. He didn't want to, he shouldn't have to, share his dad.

When Mirai started calling his name with increased anxiety he felt a little smug, although his legs were starting to get sore.

Instead of revealing himself he decided to take a nap.

* * *

The rustling of bushes woke him up. Shikadai had expected to see the relieved face of his babysitter but was instead confronted by a very angry mother.

"Why did you run away like that?"

She demanded angrily, bringing him up to his feet.

"Do you think this is what I wanted to hear after I've been travelling all day, that mom was happy to get a phone call from Mirai that you had disappeared? Your father has even left work to come looking for you."

She took a couple deep breaths and brushed all the grass and leaves off of him. "He's over here," Temari called out. "Shikadai, you've cause a lot of trouble for everyone. Apologize to Mirai please."

From the corner of his eye he saw Mirai and his dad step out from the clearing.

He was embarrassed and felt a little guilty. But he had pride and he wasn't going to admit that he was the only one at fault here.

"No!"

"Shikadai," his father's deep baritone broke some of his resolve, "that wasn't nice. You made a lot of people very worried. Say you're sorry to Mirai."

"No, you're not nice!"

The older Nara looked very much surprised by this sudden change in behaviour. His son was never one to cause a scene, let alone raise his voice. "You- you like her more than me!" His tough facade crumbled and he blubbered before bursting into tears.

Temari looked apologetically towards Mirai, "Thank you for everything you've done, sorry again. You can go home now."

Even though Shikamaru kneeled down to his son's level and patted his back, Shikadai remained inconsolable. He sent a wide eyed desperate look towards his wife.

"Talk to him," she encouraged before walking back towards the house, leaving him with his wailing son. He wasn't good with these sorts of things.

"Hey, hey," he did his best to sound comforting. "What's going on with you?"

"Dadaaaa," Shikadai cried before reaching his hands out towards him. So Shikamaru picked him up like a baby that he no longer was. Being in his father's arms, finally getting the attention that he wanted, it didn't take long for him to calm down.

Sensing that his son was finally settling, Shikamaru tried to put him on the ground but the boy's grip was like a vice. He did feel like this whole ordeal was his fault. Work had been so demanding that, recently, he had pretty much forgotten to set aside time with his son.

He remembered how elusive his own father had been towards him and he didn't want to repeat that with Shikadai. With the boy's usual laid back manner and advanced intelligence sometimes it was easy to forget that he was only five.

A part of his heart did break a little as he listened to his son's snivels and staggered breathing. When he was able to, he pulled back to look Shikadai in the eye.

"You know why we were upset right?" The boy gave a small nod. His face was all blotchy and a little red. "When you went running off like that it made Mirai and your mom very worried. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I was scared too." Shikadai looked at his dad in disbelief. His father wasn't scared of anything.

"Really?"

"Yeah really. And you know Mirai is very important to me. Remember how I told you about her dad? He helped me out a lot when I was young and I made him a promise. I promised that I would help take care of her."

Shikamaru could see the wheels turning in his son's head. Shikadai still wasn't quite grasping what he was being told. It sounded like Mirai was the favourite and that he would still have to share their time.

"Mirai is like family and I care about her a lot. But you know kid; you're mine, so no one is more important to me than you. There will be times when I'm going to do things with Mirai, okay? But that doesn't mean that I like her more. I know it's not fair that we can't go out and do things together as often as we'd like. Why don't you and mom come visit me for lunch tomorrow? Would that be good?"

"Mm," he mumbled in agreement, grabbing onto his dad's shirt, before resting his head against his chest.

The two made their way back towards the house at a relaxed pace. As it had been an emotional day, Shikadai was already on his way for another nap.

* * *

Temari smiled when they walked through the door. Her boy was fast asleep clinging tightly to Shikamaru.

"So you two made up?"

"Yeah, little fawn was really torn up about us not getting to spend a lot of time together. I guess I haven't been spreading myself around as evenly as I thought."

It was hard. Temari didn't like that she wasn't enough for her son. But she completely understood craving the attention of both parents. Together, they put him down to bed.

"Maybe we can come visit you at work sometimes?"

"I'm glad you said that," he sighed, "because I might have already promised him that you guys would have lunch with me tomorrow."

"That's fine, just tell me next time. I don't want to be made the bad guy when he asks me for something you've promised and I have to say no."

"What makes you think you're not already the bad guy?" he smirked. "You're just like my mother; no doubt he's already afraid of your nagging." He laughed at Temari's expression. Obviously she had missed his joking tone.

"Excuse me?! Who was the one who made him run away and cry? Oh, that's right. It was you."

"Jeez woman, I was only joking. There's no need to rub salt in the wound. Everyone already knows you're better at this than I am."

"That's not true," she said exasperatingly. "It'll only get easier when he's older."

"Hopefully, he'll get better with sharing his parent's time. That will help when he has a sibling."

"Don't you even joke about that."


	20. Girl's Day Out

"Isn't this just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" she gushed. "And ooh, look over there next door. That is perfect we need to go over there next."

This was madness.

They had been to ten stores in less than two hours and Temari's companion wasn't showing any signs of stopping soon. How was she doing it? Ino was due to have her baby any day now and she was practically running from shop to shop. Temari herself was seven months along and all she wanted to do was go to bed.

She had been to the Yamanaka house. That baby already had more clothes now, before he was even born, then she herself had owned in her whole life.

"Ino, we have to stop. There can't possibly be anything else you need."

"Oh come on. You're supposed to have more stamina than me right now." She shot the bubbly blonde a deadly glare.

Temari wasn't someone who went out shopping 'just because'. She always had a plan, a list of exactly everything she needed and once she had it all she went home. Ino had come over today and demanded that the two go into town and spend time together because it was a beautiful day out.

Usually, Temari would have given her an excuse, something about work. But now that she was taking leave from work, a request from her doctor and a plea from her worried husband, there was nothing she could do to get out of it. Being a political figure for many years, she was able to put on a fake smile and go out for some girl time.

"My stamina is completely normal it's yours that's strange."

Temari sat down on a bench outside of the store, rubbing her sore back, while Ino gave her a disapproving look.

"Where did the cruelest kunoichi go?" Ever since she had moved here, Ino had been really good at making Temari feel included in the group. Temari did really like the girl and considered her to be one of her best friends in Konoha. What sold her on the blonde was that, although she was a bit silly, she was genuine. Temari knew that Ino was here because she wanted to be and not just because Shikamaru had asked. Right now, however, she was not in the mood to be teased.

"She's still here," Temari responded through gritted teeth, "but this cruel kunoichi is tired, hot and sore. In case you haven't noticed, you're about to pop any day now and we are the same size. It's only going to get worse for me. I have two more months left!"

"Sheesh, no need to get snappy with me," she chastised. "Come on! Get up." With some effort she managed to pull Temari up off the bench. "We only have six more to go." She was sure that her eyebrows had hit her hairline. Her friend was already pulling her towards the next shop of horrors. She couldn't stand to see one more set of baby pajamas, sleepers or shoes. So she had to resort to something she really didn't want to.

"Ino, Ino stop," people laughed at the two of them as she was being dragged down the street. Temari felt her face flush crimson. "Ino so help me I will sick Shikamaru on you." Her friend gave a momentary pause and she thought it had worked until Ino turned around.

"Oh Tem, he might be mad for a little while but I've been dealing with his lazy butt for years. Nothing he can say will stop me now," she laughed. Great, as the old saying goes, if you want something done, do it yourself.

"I am not going into another store," she protested, digging her heels into the ground.

"Oh come on Temari! Don't be such a stick in the mud. We're having a girl's day. This is supposed to be fun." Yeah it's supposed to be, she thought grimly.

With Ino tugging on her hands, her relaxing afternoon was quickly turning into a headache. Even the baby seemed to be irritated as he was kicking up a storm. Why was everyone ganging up on her today? That train of thought was broken when she heard a splash. Quickly she looked down between them to see a rather large patch of water. Ino was absolutely dumbstruck.

"Ino I think –

"OH MY GOD," she shouted. Pretty soon a small group had surrounded them. Several women had come towards the two to offer some help.

"Try to stay calm dear," one said, "deep breaths now." Temari found that she herself needed to take the woman's advice. She wasn't equipped to deal with this sort of thing. But Ino needed her right now. So, after a couple of seconds, when she began to feel that she had somewhat of a handle on the situation she began to do what she did best, take charge.

"Ino we're going to go to the hospital now okay?" Roles reversed, she took the girl's hand and began to walk with her. Every now and then she would have to remind her to breath.

"I can't go yet," she protested once they reached the entrance to the hospital. Temari raised a brow, waiting for her to explain. "We have to wait for Sai."

"Okay, why don't we call him then?"

"I can't. He's on a mission but he was supposed to be back today or tomorrow." she said worriedly. Temari wanted to find that emotionless man and beat the tar out of him. What did he think he was doing, disappearing when his pregnant wife was due to give birth any day?

"Don't worry," Temari tried to keep her voice even and not betray her anger, "I'll call Shikamaru and he'll find Sai. But we need to go inside and have Sakura look at you."

Once Ino was in for her examination, Temari made the phone call.

He picked up on the first ring. It was almost embarrassing how protective he was but she wouldn't deny that it was nice to get looked after.

"Hey, what's going on?" She could hear the shuffling of papers in the background and felt a little bad that she was soon going to be disturbing his work.

"Ino's gone into labour."

"You're in labour?!" His voice shot up a few decibels and Temari felt like clutching her poor ear.

"Would you listen to me?" she shouted. "_Ino_, your teammate, Ino Yamanaka is in labour. We don't know where Sai is. I figured that Naruto would know where to find him so I can drag his sorry ass to the hospital."

"Okay, first, you're not dragging anyone anywhere." Rolling her eyes, she waited as Shikamaru and Naruto discussed the whereabouts of Sai. "He's not too far away," he informed her, "I am going to bring him to the hospital. Please stay there."

"Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't even be able to run if I wanted to."

Without waiting for an answer she disconnected the line. When she walked to the room Ino was in, the other girl's eyes lit up. "Don't worry. They're going to get him. How is she?" Temari asked Sakura.

"Well," Sakura wiped her brow, "everything looks good. She's started her contractions now. But we still have a while to go. I'll come back to check on you in a couple of minutes Ino but I have some more people to see."

Temari stood awkwardly for a little while. Of course, she didn't like seeing her friend in pain. What made it worse was that this whole ordeal was like having a front row seat to her near future.

"Do you want me to get your mom?"

"Not really," Ino said through gritted teeth. Mrs. Yamanaka was a stern woman but Temari couldn't fathom why she wouldn't want her mother. She couldn't possibly be able to substitute a woman who had already given birth before, could she?

"Should I leave?"

"No!"

Never had Temari felt so helpless in her entire life. All she could do was get ice chips, hold her hand and whisper words of encouragement. The only thing more awful than this helplessness, would be Ino's current condition.

As Temari sat there for hours the grunts turned to shouting which then turned into screaming.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?" Believe me Ino, Temari thought, I am asking myself the same question. She was ignoring all of her own body's signs by sitting here. Her stomach growled and the baby was constantly pushing down on her bladder.

"The two of you better be really good friends," she said to her belly.

"Temari," Ino shouted.

"Yes?"

"I want you to kill him for me okay? Don't even let him walk into this room."

"You don't really mean that," although she could sympathize with her friend. "He's on his way. I'm sure of it."

* * *

It only took him around two hours to find the culprit.

He was walking at a leisurely pace through the forest. This was perfect for him since the other shinobi's guard was down.

Sai sensed another source of chakra hurtling towards him and quickly dropped into a fighting stance. When he saw it was only Shikamaru he relaxed but, to his surprise, was instantly tackled into the next tree.

"Just what do you think you're doing here?"

It wasn't very often that the shadow user raised his voice so Sai, even though he was horrible with social cues, knew that something was wrong. At first, Shikamaru had been hesitant to accept Ino's relationship with Sai.

The guy reminded him too much of another dark haired brooding Shinobi who had once broken his friend's heart. He knew it wasn't fair for him to associate Sai with Sasuke simply because they looked similar.

Ino had been furious with him. And even Temari had been on his case and urged him to stop being so overprotective.

He had warmed up to the idea of the two, but Ino and Chouji were more like siblings to him than friends. It was an older brother's duty to protect his sister right?

"What do you mean by that? I was out on a mission and I'm coming back to the village."

"That's my problem," he ground out, "that you accepted a mission so close to Ino's due date and now, guess what, she's having the baby. And you're not there."

The other man seemed shell shocked for a couple seconds.

His face actually became impossibly paler. Shikamaru would have felt a little satisfaction if his mind wasn't speeding a million miles per second.

They had no time. "Come on we need to go back."

Sai was, unsurprisingly, a lot faster than him and pretty soon all Shikamaru could see was a small black dot on the horizon. Sai better run, he thought bleakly. Ino would surely be in a white hot rage. He himself had been on the receiving end of her lectures, it was not a pleasant affair and she hadn't been giving birth then.

However, Temari might be even more terrifying. One could only sit in fascination and horror as his wife tore into someone else. Her voice could cut through the very heart of you. The worst part was that she never got distracted and remained on target until her opponent was completely annihilated.

Yeah, he thought, I'll stay back and let him go in first.

* * *

"You're going to have to start pushing now," Sakura told her in a calm manner.

"Not until he gets here."

This back and forth had been going on for the past five minutes. Temari's head was about to explode and her hand was about to break. Her resolve was set. She would maim Sai when he decided to show up.

What was taking Shikamaru so long to find him?

The clap of running footsteps sounded down the hall and, suddenly, the door was thrown open without care. Heaving in the doorway was a disheveled Sai. For a few seconds the three women in the room didn't know how to respond.

It took Temari less time to recover than the others. But just when she was about to rip into him Ino spoke up.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

It looked like she wouldn't have to be saying anything. Temari exchanged a nervous glance with Sakura.

She was sure glad to finally be able to escape the room now that Sai was here. Unfortunately, Sakura would not be able to do the same.

"Sorry," she whispered to the poor medic before trying to slip out.

"Where are you going?" Ino demanded frantically.

"Outside," she questioned hopefully.

"Ino I think Temari just needs to get something to eat and maybe rest a little. If you still want her here later I'm sure she'll come back," Sakura eyed her.

That girl was a life saver.

Nodding in agreement she quickly made her exit before it became past the point of no return. She noticed the familiar figure of her husband as soon as she walked into the hallway.

* * *

"I'm not happy with you."

"Me? What have I done?" She knew it wasn't fair but the hunger pangs had made her grouchy.

"Never mind, I'm starving and I'm pretty sure my hand is sprained." After a little protest he managed to grab her arm and inspect it himself.

She hissed as he tried to move her fingers.

"I'm pretty sure it's broken."

"Are you serious?" It was meant to sound angry but all she could manage was exhausted.

For the first time she felt like pulling the pregnant card. Was it too much to ask for someone to bring her some food or rub her feet? She knows it isn't.

Shikamaru and Yoshino would only be too happy to cater to her. The one with the problem, who had difficulty being coddled, was her.

Time and time again Shikamaru had told her that accepting help wasn't a weakness. But independence was hard wired into her. He could obviously sense her discomfort and, after they got her hand checked out, they went home. Once dinner was finished she went straight to bed.

However, she couldn't get much rest when she could plainly see a shadow from outside in the hall.

"I can feel you standing outside of the door. Why don't you just come in?"

Sheepishly he stepped in and sat down next to her. Having him here, she finally realized that, by being so obstinate, she was only cheating herself out of comfort.

"Would you...if you want...could you – umm- my shoulders are kind of sore."

Well, it was a start.

He was a genius after all and quickly figured out what she was asking. Shikamaru was just completely surprised that she was finally reaching out for help. Keeping a straight face, to stop her from pulling away, he began to massage her shoulders.

Predictably her muscles were like rock. Now wasn't the time to broach the subject, but he would be getting to the bottom of her stress and shoulder massages would become a mandatory pre-bed routine, whether she liked it or not.

He was actually quite pleased with himself. Somehow, he had managed to undo all the knots in her shoulders and now his wife lay in a dead sleep curled up against him.

* * *

It was three hours later that she was awakened from her midday nap by the incessant ringing of the phone.

As always, Shikamaru didn't budge and it was Temari who got up and answered. Before the voice sounded on the other end she already knew who it would be. Now that she was refreshed the idea of going back didn't seem too horrible.

"Hello?"

"Hi Temari, she's asking for you."

"Okay, I'll get be there as soon as I can." She pushed herself back and forth to get the momentum to get hoist herself off the bed. Looking down at her husband who was lightly snoring and drooling a bit on the pillow, she battled with the idea of just silently leaving. It probably wouldn't be worth the scolding she'd get. Not wanting to lean down to far, she opted for grabbing the ends of his spiky ponytail and pulling.

"More time. The alarm hasn't gone off yet," he groaned.

"Pfft, it's not even morning yet. I'm going back to the hospital and I wanted to tell you. I didn't want you walking up and sending out a search party." Sitting up like something undead, Shikamaru began to feel around for the socks that he'd kicked off in his sleep.

"I'm coming too."

"You can hardly keep your eyes open," she chuckled, "just stay here."

"Not a chance." Their baby was going to be very stubborn, she mused. He was getting it from both sides.

"You're not going to be allowed in the room with me."

"Is it wrong of me to say I don't really want to be?"

No, she thought. That was the last place she wanted to be but this was her duty as a friend. And as a soon to be mother herself, this would prepare her for what was coming.

Temari wasn't wrong.

The room was chaotic and there wasn't a lot she could do. It looked awful. And it sounded awful. She would be lying if she said this didn't scare her.

She was terrified. Her mother had died this way. Temari had tried to reason that her mother hadn't been a kunoichi.

Her body hadn't undergone years of resilience training. But here was Ino and she had done all of that. Yet, somehow, she was still struggling and on the brink of giving up. Temari had to stop over thinking. The only thing she could afford to do was be there for her friend.

Ino had her uninjured hand in a death lock and Sai's in the other. Thankfully, it wasn't long before things really started to progress.

Then, what seemed like only a few minutes but was probably a good hour in reality, he was here. Sakura held the newborn in her arms and dried him off while another nurse looked after Ino. When that baby was handed off to her friend, Temari swore she had never seen anyone happier. The couple cried as they cradled their child. She felt silent tears run down her own face.

The look on Sai's face might have been the most amusing. This was the first real show of emotion she had seen from the stoic man. When his son was passed off to him, he was amazed. His eyes widened as tears continued to roll down his face uncontrollably. Then it was her turn. The only baby she had held before this was Boruto and he hadn't been a newborn then. Ino's baby was considerably smaller and more fragile looking.

Already she could see traits of both parents. His skin was very fair like his father's and he had his mom's light hair. The colour of his eyes would be determined later but, as they were now, bright blue looked up at her.

"You did such a good job Ino. He's beautiful." Her tired friend proudly smiled.

"He's out there isn't he?"

"What?"

"Shikamaru, he came with you right? He should come in and meet the baby."

"Oh, right," she placed the boy back into his mother's arms and went out to find him. It didn't take too long. He was sitting in the waiting room. "I thought you would be sitting right outside the door," she joked. But he didn't look too amused.

"I tried that for a while but it sounded like someone was torturing her in there."

"Yeah it wasn't really pretty. But it was worth it you'll see," she dragged him down the hall.

And she could see it in his face too, how that little boy instantly took away all Shikamaru's anxiety over the birth. It made her feel butterflies, or maybe it was her baby, to see him hold Sai and Ino's son. Surely, the sight of him holding their own child would reduce her to tears.

"Congratulations," he smiled, handing the baby back to his father. The pair was completely content but Temari knew that they were exhausted. After a couple more moments Ino's mother arrived so she and Shikamaru took their leave.

Once they were out the door he turned to her.

"How was it?" She knew what he was asking; had the birth scared her.

"It was... well kind of amazing. Once it's happening I'll probably forget about everything else. I won't even have time to worry," she admitted while rubbing her stomach. "Honestly, seeing him be born just makes me really excited to meet this one."

Temari knew that he felt the same. There probably wouldn't be much of a surprise. Seeing Shikaku stand next to Shikamaru left little doubt in her mind that the Nara genes were strong. She strongly believed that in two months they would have a little Shika doppelganger on their hands.

He disagreed with her. Temari suspected it was just to make her feel better. Shikamaru told her that the baby would be blonde with eyes just like hers.

But he knew the odds and brown was a dominant gene.

"I'm sure he'll be like his mom." There he went.

"Pfft, keep dreaming. He's going to be just like his dad, looks, attitude, and everything."

"I was such a pain as a kid. You don't want that."

"You're a pain now," she smiled when he sent her a glare, "and yes, I do want that. I want him to be just like you."


	21. Masquerade

The whole ballroom seemed to glitter. Many of Sunagakure's citizens had forgotten what a celebration was, as there had been little to rejoice about in the past few years. The fourth kazekage did not approve of any type of festivity.

But Gaara was not his father and the time of war had ended. So, to the people's delight, the fifth Kazekage had decreed that Sunagakure would be hosting a masquerade ball for its citizens.

It was to be a formal event, black tie for the gentlemen and all gold for the ladies. All week her esteemed little brother had been worrying about the event. He may be a natural leader in office and on the battlefield but when it came to social situations he was a complete novice. As such, most of the finer details had been passed on to her: invitations, pattern swatches, napkins, food, and silverware.

At one point it had felt as though she were drowning in the planning of this event. But now Temari could fully appreciate her hard work.

The curtains all around the large room were gold to stay true to the theme. Flower spray arrangements filled with black roses adorned all of the tables.

The only light in the room was supplied by the chandeliers and candle arbores. The candlelight caught the curtains and the sway of gold dresses created the illusion of gold dust.

"You've outdone yourself Temari," her brother's familiar low intonation commended her.

He was dressed head to toe in black, a stark difference from his usual red robes. Kankuro kept loosening the tie around his neck, not used to such tight fitting attire. Truthfully, she herself wasn't too pleased with her own dress.

What she had originally picked out was now being worn by Matsuri. It was simple, understated, form fitting down to the hip then flaring out in a sea of glitter. Temari smiled knowingly as she watched her brother stare at his former student.

Being the sister of the kazekage, her original pick had been replaced by the ladies of the council for a slightly garish, in Temari's opinion, ball gown. It was too heavy and strapless which didn't make her feel too secure. The entire top seemed to be encrusted with different yellow gems. She reflected light everywhere she went, which was actually fitting since her mask had a gold sun painted on it.

"You should go and talk to her," Temari whispered as her brother's gaze still hadn't left Matsuri who was happily chatting with her teammates. Her mask was covered with golden flowers, the same type as were in her hair.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

She swore that she could see a faint rose blush that his mask did little to conceal. In the corner, the musicians for the night started to tune their instruments. People began to make their way onto the dance floor and, before she had the chance to pester him some more, her little brother was already walking towards Matsuri.

It was nice to see her youngest brother finally reaching out towards others. Her own eyes began to search the room for someone. But before she could so much as take a step in her uncomfortable shoes, she was confronted by an unfamiliar man.

Despite being dressed in all black, he still managed to be showy. His coat had feathers hand stitched into it. And something about his air and manner of walking told her that he thought very highly of himself, most definitely a member of the council.

From the way he bumbled about, probably not a much respected councilman at that. He was not a tall, shorter than her. He would have benefitted from the heels she was wearing.

"Perhaps you would do me the honour Lady Temari," he gestured towards the dance floor with his head awkwardly.

"Oh," she said lightly, biting her cheek to hold back a smile.

It wasn't this man's fault. No one in Suna, with the exception of her brothers knew that she was involved with someone else.

"I wasn't aware that members of the council knew how to dance. You all seem so serious."

"I do not think it wrong to divulge in such an innocent diversion." His odd, formal way of speaking confirmed her suspicions. "In fact," he continued, "several people," members of council she assumed, "have complimented me on my," he bounced up on the balls of his feet, "lightness of foot."

Now she did laugh but quickly covered it up with a cough. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lurking in the shadows.

"You know, I think I will dance with you."

She took his hand without even sparing the other a backwards glance. Thankfully the music was upbeat and in no way romantic or slow.

Despite this, her partner still managed to make the dance seem intimate by the way he stared at her.

"Usually I do not enjoy dancing," he said while attempting to twirl her, which ultimately failed as she had to bend down to get under his arm, "but it does give one the opportunity to admire one's partner." This man, he couldn't honestly think that he had a chance with her, could he?

"So," he continued, slightly out of breathe by their fast pace, "it is now I'll reveal my intentions, my primary goal, if I may be so bold, is to remain close to you throughout the evening." Immediately a tall figure loomed over her partner.

"May I have the next dance Lady Temari?"

"You may," she replied curtly as if it were a hindrance.

The council man seemed perturbed by this interruption but made no move to argue as the reason for his agitation was quite a bit larger than himself. Blissfully the song ended and her saviour stepped in.

"You're a very cruel woman," he murmured as the next song started. She could only assume that he was referring to her acceptance of another partner when she had clearly locked eyes with him.

"So I've been told once or twice," she replied coyly as they spun.

They danced for a couple more minutes in silence, gaining the inspection of many people. Temari realized they were standing much too close to be considered socially acceptable. Her chest was almost touching his, her hand on the back of his neck and his around her waist.

Onlookers whispered amongst themselves about the mysterious stranger who had apparently captured the interest of their ambassador.

"I'm surprised you recognized me in this getup."

It certainly wasn't something she'd pick out for herself. Everything about her was different, even her hair was resting on her shoulders.

"Heh, as if I wouldn't. Even with this," he looked at the mask, "those eyes are a dead giveaway."

What a sap.

Her head fell against his chest in embarrassment. The volume of the chatter around them seemed to increase.

"You know," he carried on as if they were alone; "this is our first dance."

She hadn't failed to realize that. He was quite good. Shinobi were supposed to be light on their feet but somehow she had envisioned him stumbling. Being in connection to a kazekage all her life, it had been required of her to learn proper etiquette. She had hated all those meaningless dance lessons when she was younger but now it seemed they had actually paid off.

Temari looked past his shoulder to see her previous partner. His feathers looked more than a little ruffled, no pun intended. She was well aware that the council would rather she be associated with some rich influential family from Suna. Regardless of the fact that the song was unfinished, she took him by the hand and began to march off the floor.

Ignoring the wary look from her eldest brother, she continued to pull Shikamaru out towards the back balcony, away from prying eyes. She couldn't help but laugh as she broke into a run. It proved to be a difficult task with all of this fabric. He smirked at her amusement and allowed himself to be dragged along.

* * *

"If you wanted them to stop talking this probably wasn't the best way to do it," Shikamaru murmured.

"I could care less what people say," she sneered, resuming their previous stance.

There was no music out here but the hum of people out on the street below was enough. She was perfectly content.

However, his brow was furrowed and, by the look in his eyes, she assumed something was wrong.

"No one else is out here. I want to see your face."

With baited breath she watched as he slowly removed the mask. It felt as though he was undressing her and the thought made her face burst into flames. He took off his own and she had to admit it was much better this way.

"It's a good thing you did that out here, wouldn't want to scare anyone," she teased to hide her embarrassment.

But he knew her well; she still didn't know if she liked how easily he was able to read her. Ignoring her jibe, he bent over and ensured she wouldn't be saying anything else for the next couple minutes. As his lips met hers again and again, all she could think about was how desperately she didn't want to mess this up. Temari knew that she had left everything she didn't want in that room, the grandeur and the greedy political figures with their hidden agendas. What she wanted was someone who didn't expect anything of her other than honesty, someone who just wanted plain Temari.

"Who was that guy you were dancing with earlier," he questioned, breaking apart from her, opting to trail lazy kisses down her neck.

"Uh..." she was having trouble concentrating. "Um...someone from the council?" she supplied meekly.

"You don't know for sure?"

He asked directly in her ear before his mouth descended to her jaw. Accusing her of being cruel, who was the one being merciless now? Temari could hardly answer him if she had to remind herself how to breathe.

"You did see him right?" she managed to get out. "He was ridiculous. His head barely reached my shoulders."

"A convenient height," he grumbled. Finally, she was broken from her trance.

It's not like she wanted some twerp ogling her chest.

"You're being a cry-baby again," she accused.

Finding the courage, Temari pulled him down to her level and demanded his attention.

"If it means that much to you we can go back in there and I'll kiss you in front of the entire damn council. But that doesn't really seem like your style, much too troublesome."

"I don't know," he stared unabashed, "sounds good to me," he called her bluff.

Seeing her open and close her mouth, looking for a comeback, he quietly laughed and pulled her in. "

Just kidding," he breathed onto her lips. Temari vaguely realized that her back was being pushed up against the balcony. But that was all that registered at the moment. As things started to get heated, they heard a gasp that definitely hadn't come from either of them.

Temari whipped her head around to see Yukata standing in the doorway, hand over her mouth. Quickly she pulled herself out of Shikamaru's grasp and attempted to smooth down her hair.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," Yukata called out as she ran away, face beet red. Shikamaru cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Well I guess that's one more person who knows about us."

"You obviously don't know anything about her. If Yukata knows, all of Sunagakure will find out by tomorrow. Looks like you got what you wanted."

"Honestly, I was expecting more people to have figured it out by now. Your friends are a lot slower than mine...or maybe more like less nosy," he amended when she was about to argue with him. "I guess that's why I hadn't been expecting someone else to dance with you right in front of me."

It was a nice to see him get flustered for a change.

"Mm, well, we should probably get back...wouldn't want people think we were being improper."

"Weren't we?" he questioned smugly.

What a pain.

She sent him a glower before turning on her heels and walking with purpose back towards the ballroom. Naturally, he followed her.

"If you spread those kinds of rumors around, I won't be there to help when my brothers hunt you down."

He believed her. Each brother was terrifying in his own right. He may have a very small chance facing one of them, but both would be impossible. As she reached for the golden door handle he pulled her shoulder,

"Wait, take this," he handed her the mask that she had completely forgotten about. He always was a step ahead.

It was amusing to see everyone's head turn as they walked back into the room. This was the whole reason she had extended the invitation to him, a non resident of Suna. By shoving Shikamaru in the face of the council, instead of sitting down for a useless conversation, not one of them could say anything against it. Temari smugly eyed all of those stuffy old men as they walked past.

"Ah, I see it now. You're using me," he looked around the room and smirked at the man she had previously been dancing with.

"You love it."


	22. Understand Me When I Say

He hated not having any distractions. More than anything, he hated how people continued to move on with their lives as if everything was normal, as if it could ever be the same.

A part of him hadn't even wanted to return home.

Because how was he supposed to face his mother? He wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes and tell her he had done everything he could to save him, his father.

In reality, he had been miles away, helpless to do anything. Now that he was back in Konoha he could only look on grudgingly as people began to move on from the war.

Without his father the rain fell, the grass grew, clouds rolled on and reconstruction of the village continued. How?

He wanted to know. How could people afford to be so carefree?

His life seemed to be at a precipice.

The only mentors he had were now gone. The days seemed to meld into one another until his routine was broken by her arrival.

Even if she was only here to discuss the new Shinobi Union that was to be created in the next couple of months, it would be nice to see her.

That woman always had a way of kicking him back to his senses.

The Hokage had offered, well more like demanded, he take up the position of Konoha's representative for the Union.

Like many things in his life, he had little motivation to fulfill the title. However, he would be fulfilling his promise to his father; leading a new generation.

And maybe, if it meant seeing her more often, it would be worth it.

* * *

When he saw her again, Temari of the Sand, she looked different. And it wasn't just her obvious change in attire.

She wore her hair differently now, in two bunches instead of four. The look in her eyes seemed softer, but seemed tired. He couldn't blame her. Most mornings he woke up wanting to go back to sleep. The first words she said were the last he wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru."

He didn't want to talk about his dad. It was all anyone ever said to him.

They tried to tell him that his father had died a hero, reminded him of how similar they were, how his father would have been proud. "It sucks doesn't it?"

Right, he mused. She had lost a father and mother.

Perhaps she wasn't like everyone else who told him they understood his pain; but he still didn't want to talk about this.

"Mm. What's happening in Suna?"

He saw the concern in her expression and decided to ignore it.

"Well, it's as good as it can be I guess. I'm not sure if you've had time to look at it, but if you've seen the list of casualties you'll know that Suna suffered quite a bit more than the other villages. The first week back was a mourning period for our people. It's strange. The place just seems like a ghost town now."

Yes, he had seen the list.

The names upon names of shinobi from Suna who had died in battle made him want to heave. But it was the way in which he had been almost joyful about this sacrifice, if it meant she was alive, that really made him disgusted in himself.

"But," she continued, ignoring his spacey disposition, "at least I'll finally have some work to distract myself with."

As they walked through the street, he caught sight of Ino. His teammate looked even worse for wear than himself. She was thinner, which was scary in itself as Ino had always been slim. Her hair and eyes had lost their shine and she too had withdrawn inside herself. A quiet Ino was not a normal Ino, everyone knew this. Catching sight of the two, the girl walked over to speak to them.

"Temari," she greeted in a hushed tone, "I'm surprised to see you here so soon."

Shikamaru could tell by the way her teal eyes glowed with worry that Temari would feel the need to exchange her sympathies with his friend. But this would be a mistake.

He had taken the death of Asuma harder than his other teammates. To some extent, Shikamaru had learned to somewhat cope with grief.

Ino was a ticking time bomb.

"Ino," she started before he could stop her, "I'm sorry...about your father. He was great asset to the war." Ino stopped completely and her eyes widened before narrowing dramatically.

"An asset?" she ground out.

"I didn't mean it like that," Temari tried to modify her words. Shikamaru understood that her way of speaking was more abrupt than most.

She hadn't really known Inoichi, so of course she wouldn't have said he was a great man. He knew that she wasn't trying to be impersonal.

"No," Ino glared, "I know exactly what you meant."

"Ino," he decided to jump in and stop this from escalating any further.

"Why are you taking her side Shikamaru?" her fists were clenched and her eyes burned.

This wasn't his friend. Ino was hurting, everyone was. Temari looked between the two warily.

"There are no sides Ino. You know that's not what she meant."

"Ino," Temari butted in, "I am truly sorry. I just wanted you to know that I know what you're going through –

Before she could even finished her speech Ino fiercely cut in.

"How could you possible know what I'm going through, what Shikamaru is going through, what any of us are feeling?" she shouted. "You don't have any concept of pain. You almost snapped Tenten's back in the chuunin exams! You didn't even lose anyone in the war."

He could only look on in horror as Ino got more and more worked up. Temari's expression had turned to stone.

"Your father was some sort of tyrant who didn't even care about you or your siblings. Don't you dare try to tell me that you understand what I'm going through!"

He was going to be caught in the crossfire of another war. Ino was breathing heavily and her eyes were like daggers. Despite her explosion, somehow she seemed a little calmer. Let it all out where the words that had been spoken to him so long ago. Ino had vented but at what expense?

He dared a look at Temari. If this was the old her, she would have been retaliating, her fan pulled to the ready. But now she just stood there staring at the ground, unflinching.

"Your right," she agreed, voice void of emotion. "I didn't have a good relationship with my father."

Then she lifted her face and he knew that he couldn't be imagining the pain in her eyes. "But that doesn't mean that I didn't mourn his death. I know more about loss than you would ever know. Shikamaru," she nodded to him, "Ino excuse me."

There was something about the look on her face that made him forget about his own troubles. Sadness just didn't suit Temari. People marvelled at her strength and diamond tough exterior.

He felt guilty. Upset that he had just stood there and allowed Ino to take her frustrations out on the other girl. The hurt in Temari's expression made him feel desperate to fix things but she was quickly walking away.

"Why did you do that?" he questioned with more force than necessary. Ino's shoulders slumped in shame.

"I'm sorry. I just –

Yeah, he knew.

Just moments ago, he felt like he was about to let loose as well. Was it something about the Sunan girl that broke the emotional dam a person tried to build up? Without waiting to hear her apology he turned on his heels to catch Temari. To his surprise, she was nowhere in sight.

Shit.

He broke out into a sprint in the direction she had gone. If they were anything alike, and as much as he used to hate admitting it they were, she would go someplace isolated.

When he saw a forest trail that lead into some training grounds he knew that was where he would find her.

And sure enough it didn't take long before her back came into view. She was sitting on a hill looking away from him. Savagely, she plucked daisies out from the grass.

"You didn't have to follow me," she said, back still to him. Walking up behind her, he plopped down unceremoniously to the grass. Now they sat almost back to back.

"I know."

"I'm fine," she declared. But he didn't know if she was assuring him or herself.

For several moments they sat in silence. He could have fallen asleep, if it wasn't for the tension exuding from her. Right when he opened his mouth to say something she spoke.

"I used really hate it you know, seeing people like Ino and you. I couldn't understand how family worked and, even though it made no sense, I still wanted it. Really, it's stupid to mourn something you never had so I'm not going to wallow in self pity or anything. No one would ever say he was a good father but he was still mine. So I do understand at least a little bit. Shikamaru," he had been so absorbed in her words that he jumped a little at being addressed, "you don't think I said I was sorry for your loss just because I felt it was the proper thing to do, do you?"

"No, I would never I - ," he quickly protested.

Her tone had been so despondent that he was eager to replace it with anything else.

"Stop, you're not supposed to be the one trying to make me feel better. I know that Ino only said those things because she's upset. The two of you are the ones who need cheering up."

"What are you talking about? I'm fine." He felt her turn around so he did the same.

Her eyes were no longer sad but bright. Somehow he felt like she was reading him. She was smart, and he liked that about her, but up until now he had found comfort in the fact that he could hide all of his grief.

"Don't be stupid."

"What do you want me to do Temari," he sighed, aggravated, "cry in front of you for old time's sake?"

"I want you to admit that you're playing dumb and covering up your emotions. You don't have to talk to me but at least talk to someone."

Things really had changed between the two of them. It had happened so seamlessly that, if he hadn't been looking for it, he never would have noticed the change. True, she was still a fearsome thing to behold. But somewhere over the course of the last couple of years she had become more than just 'that troublesome woman from Suna'. They were friends now, comrades. He watched her sigh and lean back on her elbows. She was beautiful.

"Um," he cleared his throat awkwardly and tried to push down those feelings. "There's really nothing to say. My dad died honourably in battle and there's nothing I could do to stop it. I guess...I'm just gonna miss him, that's all."

In a rare moment of gentleness, Temari rested her hand atop of his. The sound of his blood pumping in his ears at such an innocent act made him feel childish.

"It's okay," she encouraged, mistaking the shine in his eyes for tears.

Now Temari fully sat up and rested her other hand on his shoulder. Something about this current arrangement made him want to push his luck. Yeah, he was sort of taking advantage of her intrinsic reflex to treat him like a cry-baby.

With a shaky hand he reached around her shoulder and slowly pulled her forwards. Quickly he found that, although the act had been done out of curiosity's sake, his conflicting feelings and tension began to melt away.

If anyone walked by they would definitely get the wrong idea. He and Temari weren't anything. She was just a friend offering comfort he told himself. That's what friends did right?

What a friend didn't do though was audibly inhale the scent of said other friend as he held her. Temari instantly stiffened.

"This better not be some kind of weird fetish."

"Tch, troublesome," he grumbled. And she really was. His brain told him to pull away and leave but his body had different thoughts. What a drag. These feelings transcended reason and Shikamaru was, if anything, a man of logic.

What did she even think of him? The way she looked at him bluntly didn't reveal much. Was he still a whiny fourteen year old in her eyes?

"Are we friends?"

the words left his mouth before he had time to weigh the repercussions. First she was shocked and then insulted, pulling fully away from him.

"Well, I don't just go out of my way to cheer up strangers."

For someone who was always to the point when it came to business, she sure did have a thing for evading personal questions. He just wanted a straight answer.

"But are we friends?" he repeated.

She took a couple unnerving seconds to dwell over the question.

"Yeah," she looked up at him, "we're friends."

Somehow those words didn't give him as much satisfaction as he had expected. But what more did he want?

The dynamics of their relationship were already confusing enough, she was confusing enough. Before the war, a friendship between them would have been impossible. Two people from different nations could be allies at most. It hurt his head to think of how fast the world was changing. Troubling feelings for an equally troublesome woman were the least of his worries at the moment and he couldn't let anything interfere with his work.

Konoha has to come first.

"It'll be good to at least know one person in the union," she mused idly.

Right, even at work he would be seeing her. Despite all of the things he had just thought, he knew that he wanted her there. It was wrong but he wanted this type of distraction.

"Hmm," he grunted in acknowledgement.

"Are you sure everything is okay? You're acting very...odd."

"Nah, I'm just thinking."

"When are you not?" she laughed quietly.

He wouldn't respond to her teasing even though he was pleased that they were getting back to their usual banter. Wait, since when did they have a special way of speaking together?

Strangely enough, it was Temari who lay down on the ground first. Somehow they had begun to switch roles. Part of him felt embarrassed about watching her as she rested, eyes closed with her bangs moving with the breeze.

And Shikamaru knew that she knew he was staring.

If he really felt that their relationship was completely platonic, as he claimed, there would be nothing to feel guilty about. Ugh, this was just hurting his head.

Ever the escapist, he brought his body down to the grass and closed his eyes. This, whatever it was, would go away on its own; nothing that couldn't be cured with a little sleep.

...If only he knew.


	23. You're the Only One

**A prequel to Masquerade...**

* * *

"When were you going to tell me?"

It was a particularly mild night, which for Suna meant it was not sweltering and the harsh winds were more of a light breeze. The two of them rested on one of the many cliffs overlooking the village. They had come to look at the stars and get away from prying eyes but their relaxation time had turned into a serious conversation.

"What was I supposed to say? Besides, nothing is going to happen."

She was of course referring to the many marriage proposals that had been sent to her from outside and within the village.

It was almost macabre how soon after all the fighting people were back into the power play of politics. The council had sat her down for a tedious meeting a week after the war and explained to her that it would be in the best interest of Suna for her to wed an influential man from a neighbouring village.

Not a problem, her dream had indicated that too was something she wanted. The only issue, she remembered thinking sourly, was that none of those proposals were from the man she wanted.

It wasn't like she had actually wanted to meet all those suitors but she had no excuse. Despite liking, well being in love with Shikamaru, they weren't together. So, she had gone and had even dressed up for these dumb meetings.

She knew that it wouldn't go anywhere so where was the harm in it? Should she have told him about it sooner?

To Temari, it just seemed like it would bring unnecessary hurt and, from the looks of it, she was right.

He was visiting Suna and they had been in her office when he found out. A shinobi had entered while Shikamaru was helping her finish off some paper work.

The man had passed her the unsuspecting letter and asked,

"Should I just tell the people at HQ to send a letter to the wind Daimyō and tell him that, once again, you refuse to accept the marriage proposal his son has offered?"

He couldn't have known that she and Shikamaru were together, hardly anyone in Suna did.

He didn't see the way in which the Nara's eyes had instantly shot up to question her and how his shoulders had stiffened when she looked away ashamed. After she had told Gaara of their relationship, her brother had been successful in intercepting and refusing most proposals.

However, the Daimyō were the leaders of their land and a refusal from the Kazekage would be political suicide, so those letters came directly to her.

Finally, she simply nodded her head at the man, sensing the awkward atmosphere he left.

* * *

Shikamaru hadn't said anything about it for the rest of the day. In fact, he hardly spoke a word to her.

Temari just knew that he was trying to put the pieces together, coming up with an attack plan to pull out the answers to the thousands of questions he had concocted. There were very few times she had seen this look on his face.

At first, she thought he was angry. But it was deeper than that; betrayal?

Not until they were lying down, staring up at the starry sky, did he speak. Temari couldn't blame him for being upset for not telling him about proposals she received when they were together, which were few.

But all of the ones she had gotten while he was lazing about, trying to figure out his own feelings for her, she would not apologize for. She had waited so long for him to finally get his head out of the clouds and notice her.

"Temari," he propped himself up on one elbow to look at her, "I don't care that 'nothing is going to happen'. This is a big thing you've kept from me."

"Well, maybe I didn't say anything because I knew this would be your reaction!" she quipped, anger quickly getting the better of her.

She needed to remain level headed for this.

"You can't be surprised that I would be offered proposals after the war. I'm the right age and Suna can't really survive without a constant ally for domestic resources."

"You could have brought it up, oh I don't know, any one of the times we saw each other at the union."

"So it's my fault now?"

She couldn't help herself from arguing. Something about him, his choice of words, never failed to rile her up. "Sorry if I didn't want you to confess to me out of jealousy!"

"I wouldn't have," he muttered unconfidently. If she were in his shoes Temari knew that she wouldn't be taking this as calmly as he was.

"If you want the whole story, here it is. After the war, the council decided that I needed to marry someone for the sake of Suna. And I went and met a couple of the council's favourites," she could see he was about to interrupt so she covered his mouth. "In my defense, nothing was happening between us at the time. You hadn't even hinted that you thought of me as anything but a friend. But after we started seeing each other Gaara took care of rejecting all future proposals. The only ones he couldn't deny were from the Daimyo. Yes, his son keeps sending letters but they don't come as often and I'm not going to accept. And the council can't force me to accept them without Gaara's approval."

He took in her speech for a couple of moments. Shikamaru was thinking very hard before he said,

"Why didn't you feel like you could tell me?"

"I – well, it seemed so unnecessary. There's nothing we can do about it and most of it is in the past." He seemed to accept that answer since he nodded. "Are you angry?" She couldn't stop the question from sounding a little frightened.

He gave a humorless laugh and it twisted her stomach.

"I'm angry at myself for not realizing that something like this could be or was happening."

She had been surprised herself when the first proposal came. Temari knew that she wasn't docile and polished like a nobleman's wife should be. Her face had a slight androgynous quality to it when she looked in the mirror, definitely no one's 'ideal girl'.

It wasn't until Shikamaru finally began to notice her that she began to see what other men saw. To him she was beautiful, wild and scary but beautiful all the same.

"Actually I take back what I said earlier. There is something we could do about the Daimyo's proposals if you wanted."

"What's that?"

The whole while they had been sitting there Shikamaru had been strategizing, trying to find a solution to that problem to no avail.

"Suna is hosting a masquerade ball." He looked at her quizzically.

"I'm not following."

"Just show up okay?" She didn't wait for his answer before curling into the nook between his body and arm.

"Yeah, okay."


	24. Baby Whisperer

While his friends had been stumbling through first time parenthood, Shikamaru had caught on like a natural. He acquitted it to years of looking after Mirai when she was a newborn. It wasn't as though he didn't suffer through sleepless nights like the rest of his friends, because he did.

But he seemed have an uncanny ability. For whatever reason, no matter how fussy, any baby placed into his arms for a couple of minutes instantly became quiet. Temari said it was his laziness they could sense, that they became so bored sleep was the only other alternative.

Needless to say, he had become quite popular with his friends after his talent had been discovered.

Today he had his hands full with both Mirai and Shikadai. The little girl was just rounding on four. She looked so much like Kurenai, eyes and dark black hair that was already reaching past her shoulders. However, her outgoing attitude was just like Asuma's. She jumped up and down and eagerly chattered nonstop as they walked.

Shikadai was strapped to his chest in a sling, the fabric covering most of his face to avoid being burnt. Unlike the girl whose hand he was holding, Shikadai wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Only a few months old, he wouldn't be sharing Mirai's enthusiasm once they reached the park.

It was kind of surreal to be here again, at the playground he used to go to many years ago. Now it would be frowned upon if he slid down the slide. People really do gravitate to the places they know, he mused.

Mirai happily swung on the swings, easily making friends with the other little girl beside her. Soon enough, his own son would be running around this park like he used to. Well, probably dragging his feet around like he used to. The tyke was still so small. It was impossible to say who he would take after, personality wise, at this point.

Look wise Shikadai was a dead ringer for himself besides those eyes. A smug smile tugged on his lips as he thought about how much his son would hate to hear that as he got older. Already, people who passed on the street would comment on those winged teal eyes that were 'just like his mother's'.

"Uncle Shikamaru, Uncle Shikamaru," Mirai called. "Look at how high I am!"

He looked up from his son and waved to her. As he did so, he realized a familiar face walking towards them. Naruto trudged up the stairs to the playground with a wailing bundle in his arms.

No doubt he had been saddled with baby duty today as well.

"Shikamaru there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you," the blonde managed to gasp out.

He had probably been running around the village searching. Shikamaru was sure that was part of the reason Boruto was now screaming at the top of his lungs. Never run with a baby...it was common knowledge.

"I tried your house but no one was home. You have to help me."

Before he had a chance to respond Naruto had already thrust his son into Shikamaru's arms. Being careful not to disturb Shikadai, who somehow remained sleeping despite the hollering of the other baby, Shikamaru moved Boruto into his free arm.

And sure enough his gift kicked in and both babies were soon sleeping happily. Naruto looked at him with wide reverent eyes.

"How do you do it? It's not fair. He's been crying for hours!"

He never got to answer his friend as Mirai toddled over to them. Setting her eyes on the new arrival, she demanded that he play with her. Shikamaru had seen a lot of things, but the Hokage on a teeter totter with a four year old girl might have been the funniest.

Really he didn't mind being saddled with two babies. As long as they were sleeping, it was actually less work. He could almost fall asleep. But Temari would have his head if she found out he wasn't watching Shikadai with apt attention.

Despite seeming haggard before, Shikamaru looked on as Naruto chased Mirai around the park with an unnatural amount of energy. He was pleasantly surprised when Chouji came over the hill. Between work and family there had been little time for the two of them to catch up. His friend waved to him happily, yup same old Chouji. When he plopped himself down, Shikamaru could see that he had Chocho with him.

Even though she was born a couple months after Shikadai she was already twice his size. No one could mistake her for being anyone but Chouji's. Without saying a word Chouji place Chocho down between Shikamaru's legs, as his hands were full.

He was beginning to feel a little ridiculous at this point.

"Do you think you could watch her for a bit?"

Shikamaru sighed and looked at his expectant friend. Naruto had gone off to the other side of the park where an ice cream vendor was to treat Mirai. If two of them were already sleeping, a third wouldn't be too hard to handle right?

"Sure."

He leaned back against a tree and watched his friend run off to do whatever it was, a bit disappointed that they hadn't gotten the chance to talk. He felt like one of the deer at the Nara compound, that one poor deer that was elected to care for all the fawns. Several people passed by and gave him amused smiles. Tenten had even walked passed to momentarily coo at the three children.

"They're so cute," she gushed, taking her time to stroke each baby's forehead.

"Yeah, they are when they're not screaming or spitting up on you."

He relished in the horrified look on her face. It had sounded pretty disgusting to him at first too. But waking up with a crying infant at four in the morning created a special sort of bond. Even if the baby did spit upon him, Shikadai was his son so he was practically immune to it.

"I didn't know you were retiring from your position as advisor and going into the babysitting business," she joked once she had gotten over the not always pleasant reality that was parenthood.

"I'm not," he deadpanned.

"Really, because I saw Sai on my way up here and it looked like he was in great need of your assistance."

Shikamaru groaned, causing the three children to squirm. The last thing he was crying babies, especially ones that weren't his own. So, he quickly found a comfortable position and lowered his voice before he spoke.

"Don't tell him where I am. This is the max." Tenten only smirked and turned around to be on her merry way.

"Sorry Shikamaru, it looks like he's already found you."

He whipped his head around and sure enough there was Sai holding a perfectly content Inojin. This didn't explain why the man looked so stricken with panic.

"What's going on Sai?" he asked cautiously as Tenten took her leave.

"Shikamaru," he nodded his head awkwardly in greeting. "I think I've made a mistake but I don't quite know how to fix it."

Ah, so it was about work?

"It appears that today was apparently somehow special. Is it a holiday?"

"Um, no, not that I know of."

"That's what I don't understand. Ino yelled at me this morning and kept saying something along the lines of 'how could you forget today'?"

"It's your anniversary," he answered monotonously.

Heh, it took a brave man to forget something like that. Remembering special occasions was troublesome but he had been scared straight the onetime Temari thought he had forgotten her birthday. If the woman had just waited, she would have found that he had organized a surprise party. Instead, she had been so frustrated that he had no choice but to ruin the surprise and tell her.

"Oh," Sai looked absolutely terrified.

And just like that he had placed Inojin in Shikamaru's lap and scurried away to make amends.

"Hey!" Shikamaru called out. "You can't just dump your baby here!" It was no use though.

Sai was fast and, with four babies on his person, he wasn't in any place to move.

* * *

That's how she had found him, a baby in either arm and legs crossed making some sort of makeshift cradle for the other two. Shikamaru was startled out of his dazing by the flash of a camera.

His wife stood before him with a wicked grin on her face.

"Having fun?" she chuckled.

He only grunted as she leaned down to press a light kiss on Shikadai's head.

"Naruto took Mirai home. He could see that you were being over worked. I'd help you out but I'm afraid they'll start crying if I move one."

"Go ahead. Their parents don't deserve to have happy children returned to them."

She looked at him sympathetically.

"I'll take Shikadai," he was the only one she could count on to remain sleeping. It had been her own idea for Shikamaru to have a day out with their son but she had missed the two of them terribly. With a great amount of teamwork, they somehow managed to get Inojin into the sling Shikadai had been in, and brought Chocho up to the arm opposite of Boruto. She laughed at his unamused expression.

One by one they returned the children back to their homes.

Hinata had been worried sick when Naruto had returned with no baby. To the surprise of both Naras she had actually raised her voice at him, the equivalent of a rage from any other women. After depositing Boruto they decided to leave quickly, not wanting to get caught in the middle of a marital spat.

Chouji had apologized profusely for the trouble he caused. Shikamaru couldn't stay upset at his friend for very long so he instantly shrugged it off and handed Chocho back. As if the baby could smell the dinner her mother was cooking, she instantly woke up and began to wail. Chouji apologized once more to the two of them before going back inside.

The drop off he had been least looking forward to was next. Temari looked questioningly at him as she heard the shouting from inside the house.

"He forgot their anniversary," he said by way of explanation.

The pity in her eyes quickly dissipated. Although he wasn't happy about returning Inojin while his parents were obviously arguing, he wanted to go home. When he knocked on the door it was pulled open with force.

"What is it?" Ino shouted furiously. Her eyes went wide as she took in her teammate and baby. "Oh, hi baby, are you happy to be back with mama?"

Her tone had changed so quickly it was almost scary. Inojin did look happy to back with his mother but Sai still seemed very frightened.

"Shikamaru, Temari, I'm sorry that my no good husband left you to look after our baby. Believe me; I'll personally," she cracked her knuckles; "make sure it doesn't happen again."

Shikamaru had no doubt that Sai would be remembering their anniversaries from now on.

As they were walking back home, Shikadai began to wake up. It was almost as if he knew that he was alone and would be the main recipient of his parents' affection. He gave a toothless smile when Temari tickled him under his chin.

This was what it was supposed to be. It was how he'd grown up, a three cell family unit. One child was good, two would be the max.

People smiled at his ability to calm crying children but he thought that watching Temari with their baby was much more fascinating. By now he had committed to memory all of the looks his wife reserved solely for Shikadai. Her eyes somehow managed to be gentle and fierce all at once. Shikamaru had always thought that a mother's love would be sweet and tender. There was definitely unconditional love. Even when Shikadai cried or made a mess the most Temari could do was scold him lightly. Perhaps that would change when he got older. But Shikamaru knew that Temari would always have a soft spot for Shikadai. Her unconditional love was backed by a ferocious to desire to protect him from the world. The kid would probably try to manipulate that as he grew up.

Who was he kidding?

The kid already had both mom and dad wrapped around his tiny fingers.

Shikamaru poked fun at Temari often for being so overprotective but he knew that he was too. He was just less obvious about it.

Years ago when he was still a chuunin, complaining about lame missions, he could remember the urge to protect civilians. He could recognize the desire to protect his friends, his mother, his wife but this was completely different.

It was a carnal feeling. Although he tried to avoid it at all costs, there was no question that he would kill for his son.

Shikamaru had grown up in a time of war. Fighting was just something shinobi did, no questions asked.

His world had been very small back then. He never stopped to think about how his parents felt when he went out to the field. All he could do was thank his lucky stars that Shikadai would have a much different future. A life with both his parents and no wars.

There was a selfish part of him that wanted Shikadai to stay this way forever, innocent and completely ignorant about the past. It was fruitless he knew. But he could dream.


	25. Mistaken

She cracked codes for a living so she could have seen this coming from a mile away. If she were to be truthful with herself it was her crush that had blinded her.

He was smart, caring, and sensitive and everything she had ever wanted.

When she had overheard him and his friend talking about their ideal lives she had almost fainted with happiness. It was her. Everything he wanted, the not too pretty not too ugly, docile and faithful wife was Shiho. By all accounts it should have worked out.

What had changed?

At first Shiho had thought it was the other girl's fault, Temari of Suna.

Every time she came to Konoha he would drop everything. Shikamaru told her he was afraid of the other girl's wrath.

It wasn't fair.

They saw each other at the union. What more could Temari of Suna want? She was everything Shikamaru had said he couldn't envision himself with. But she was also everything Shiho could see any other man wanting.

Temari of Suna did not stutter. She didn't have a shy bone in her body. Her bold attitude earned her looks from many men in the village.

It didn't help that her attitude was accompanied by a near perfect body.

Her curves weren't covered by a lab coat. She didn't wear glasses. Shiho's ash blond hair couldn't match up to the sun kissed waves of Temari.

How could she compete with the older bombshell? The only solace she had was that she knew beautiful wasn't what Shikamaru wanted.

He had said it himself.

So why would he spend so much time with her? He was no longer her guide. The only conclusion Shiho could come up with was that Temari also had a crush and was doing her best to seduce him.

This was how she found herself lurking behind bushes and hiding in alleyways. If she could prove to Shikamaru that the other girl had an interest in him that extended beyond friendship maybe he'd turn tail and run.

* * *

The day had started like most days he came into cryptology, with him being pulled away by Temari.

"Hey," he had lazily waved to her; perfect. There were so few times they were together just the two of them.

"H-hello Shikamaru," she could hardly contain her excitement.

"I just came to drop these off." Too quickly he placed the codes on her desk and began to leave.

"Wait!"

She flushed bright red at her forwardness. Surprised, Shikamaru turned back towards her.

"I-I um I was um...What is i-it you h-have to do?" He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I have to meet up with Temari."

Her heart constricted a little. But no matter, it was okay because in the end she was still his ideal woman. Shikamaru continued to look at her questioningly before he left.

Shiho had been so caught up in her daydream of their perfect life together, brown haired bespectacled children, that she hadn't even seen him go. Quickly, she put away all her files and rushed out to him.

"Shik –

She called out but before she could finish it was interrupted by.

"Temari," his voice rang.

The other woman's smile was much too coy to be innocent. Shikamaru's back was to Shiho and she could just imagine his expression as he thought of how exhausting his day was about to become.

The Suna girl reached forwards and pulled his arm without asking. It made her blood boil. Shiho gave herself a mission then; gather information to prove Temari's intentions.

So far she had a small list going.

Temari stood much too close to him when they walked. Every time he spoke she would look right into his eyes and seemingly demand that he do the same. When they stopped for tea she took off her jacket, no doubt in an attempt to get him to notice her exposed arms.

She argued with him and ultimately he paid for the tea. She was trying to coerce him into taking her on a date!

Anyone could see that Shikamaru and Temari were like oil and water.

There were too many things separating them, like the fact that although the war was over, they were still from different villages.

The longer Shiho watched the more she could assure herself that everything would be fine. The two fought like cats and dogs. Well, they weren't yelling at each other but they couldn't seem to agree on anything. Temari looked like she wanted to continue exploring the village but Shikamaru pointed towards the training grounds.

Ultimately, he won and Shiho followed the two from a great distance. They were jonin after all and she would die of humiliation if Shikamaru found out she had been spying.

When it was safe to do so, she slowly crept up the path they had disappeared on.

Then everything went wrong.

Temari stood with her back facing Shikamaru, arms folded over her chest and the tips of her ears were red. What was going on? More importantly why was he twisting her to face him.

If Shiho had been holding a glass it would have shattered as she watched in horror.

Because it isn't Temari who does the unthinkable, it's someone closer to home. Shikamaru leans down and kisses the other girl with so much ardour. There is no way he's faking it for her benefit.

Everything in Shiho's mind screams no.

Part of her wanted to tear the arms Temari had thrown over Shikamaru's neck but mostly she just wanted to cry.

She was so stupid. Those things he had said...that had been seven years ago.

It had been naive of her to think that his dreams hadn't changed in all that time. She had been so blind, chosen to ignore the way that, although he griped about it, Shikamaru's eyes definitely did light up when Temari's name was mentioned.

He didn't guide the other girl around because he was ordered to. In fact, today at the teashop it probably was a date. Temari was probably upset with him for paying. It was hard to admit but they did work on some level. Shikamaru had changed. He was more motivated and Shiho wondered how much of that the girl in his arms was responsible for.

Shiho couldn't stand to stay there a second more as the two lovers – she hated that word – embraced.

It had never been a fight.

Shikamaru had probably loved her years before Shiho herself even came on the scene. But he was happy.

And if she had really liked him, shouldn't she be happy for his sake?

She ran out of the training grounds and furiously wiped the tears from her face.

Wiping down her glasses that had fogged up in the whole ordeal, she went back to her work.

She cracked codes for a living.

Variables and unknowns were what she was supposed to work well with. People were confusing.

She would stick to paper.


	26. Love Me Like You Do

She is burning from the inside out.

Everywhere, the relentless heat surges, robs her of vision, thought and time. This is nothing like walking through the searing Suna desert as the sun blasts against the rolling sand dunes.

It's a foreign feeling, unbearable and addictive all at once. Unlike anything she's ever experienced; the only wind is the tempest they create with ragged breaths.

It would take an explosion, a war, the sky falling to distract her from anything but this instant.

The very small diminutive part of her brain that hasn't yet been stripped of logic advises her to slacken her hold. With her palms to the ceiling above her head, she has his hands in a death grip, fingers entwined.

She's probably drawing blood with her nails.

But it's hard to be bothered when the electric current coursing through her body was shooting sparks.

She was a hardened kunoichi. Her skin wasn't supposed to be this reactive to the light feathery touches of his hands as they slowly almost painfully slowly ran up her legs.

Gone were the awkward advances of just a few moments ago. She had felt so out of her depth. At the age of twenty three, she had never been with someone like this.

Neither of them had known quite how to start but now they sure knew how to finish. Their bodies ran on autopilot.

In the beginning they had agreed to be unhurried and deliberate in their movements. True to their word, despite the erratic breathing, they were drawing this out. But it was agonizing, like a mirage in the desert. She could clearly see what she wanted and knew how to acquire it.

Except every time she got closer he would slow again or stop entirely; it was maddening. He always did have better control than her.

She was torn between deciding whether this was all too much or not enough. Her heart hammered painfully in her chest as he looked at her, eyes dark and intense. The only thing she could do was stare back and not even endeavour to mask the love and longing.

The only thing she could think of when he dipped down for another languid kiss, the type she could feel right down to her toes, was her hardened resolve.

She would shatter that control.

* * *

He was burning from the inside out.

No amount of planning or strategizing could have prepared him. The smallest things she did set him aflame.

The way her hands ran down his back, the tiniest indecipherable whisper, how she still managed to seem shy despite being so sure in her actions, it begged him to unravel.

The fact that he couldn't bring himself to do so was the root of his pain. He had waited so long, wanted her ceaselessly. And this would be savoured no matter how excruciating.

She was digging her nails into his hands as they teased each other. There was no doubt that he was a masochist when it came to her. He enjoyed the sting of the scratches, each mark a signature, a sign of the ownership she had over him.

That thought was sort of twisted, which only heightened this insatiable hunger.

His whole body felt like it was a string being pulled tight, the slightest movement sending vibrations from end to end. This wasn't good. The grasp he had on his sanity, on reality, was beginning to loosen and fade away.

It didn't help when she kept trying to redirect his hands across her torso and speed up the, seemingly endless, lip lock they were in. He tried his best to glare at her but the look was easily misinterpreted for passion. To be honest, he hadn't really attempted to put much malice behind the stare in the first place.

He nearly laughed when she pouted at being kissed again.

This was her game.

If he gave her everything quickly it would be too boring. He loved problem solving and finding just the right place, the perfect balance between easy and challenging, was proving to be an enjoyable if somewhat taxing mission.

They had played almost all their cards. First was the hair, then the clothes, flesh on flesh. He had stayed strong for all of it. Though it hadn't been effortless, his muscles had strained and struggled not to grab her, to yield to more primitive instincts.

Truly it wasn't fair of her to sit there so trusting; hair a golden mane that looked as if he had ran his fingers through it already.

But he was first and foremost a gentleman, a fact that continued to irk him.

Everything was her call.

He didn't know what it was, perhaps the tone or the way her lips moved as that one word slipped out.

* * *

"Shika," it was more of a pant then anything.

But, to his overworked brain, it was hard to decipher. Was it a plea, an admonition a slip of the tongue?

Whatever the true meaning, all he could really discern was that the string holding all of his willpower had snapped right then. Without any constrictions he fervently seized her, allowing himself to explore her body like he had never dared to before.

The peace had given way to chaos as nothing, no contact, seemed to satisfy quite as it had in the past. Why were they both acting so desperate when neither was leaving?

Everything was a blur. The inferno wracked through their bodies, burning walls, igniting a new found determination.

They were a muddle of inexperienced limbs. And despite the apparent urgency, they still managed to find some humor in their blundering. How they could still laugh in a situation where most would be dying of embarrassment was a credit to their irrefutable trust in one another.

They couldn't be embarrassed because that implied its counterpart shame. And there was none of that here. It was only steady hands, sweet gasping words, low moans and the looming promise of some sort of liberation.

This time, she was the one to claim his lips, forcing him to abandon his previous ministrations. There would be no cruelty from her tonight.

All she wanted was him impossibly closer. She wanted to meld together so that their thoughts became one string of consciousness. Because she would never be able to voice or put down in words everything he was making her feel.

They were rushing this part and he seemed to know it too. So when he carefully caressed her jaw and lifted her face, forcing their eyes to meet, a silent agreement was made.

Finally there was some semblance of relief as they fully met.

One minute the clock seemed to be running out of time but next it felt like they had eternity. They were unhurried. With absolute certainty, the look as they penetrated each other's eyes told them, they would have years to do this.

By means of this step in their relationship, each was sure that they were utterly ruined for anyone else.

They were trapped in this cage together now and both would gladly throw away the key.

And this was only the calm before the storm. With an increasing pressure, the need to break their current pace was rapidly become known. Together they chartered the unknown territory, the peaks and valleys. But the fire wasn't finished with them yet. It tore through flesh, flames licking higher.

And it seemed to only spread out of their control, faster and faster, all consuming.

It was unavoidable; nothing would put out the flame. Driving, pushing, grinding, clenching, the only viable option was to relinquish reason and combust.

The freefall was heart wrenching but it was bliss, ecstasy, it was love.

Despite the plummet their grip was iron, anchoring them together, lest the world be swallowed up beneath them. Arms wrapped tightly, they shield each other from the outside world. To think that there was ever a time that these feelings were almost disowned.

People would laugh and say opposites attract but they weren't really so different, just distinct enough to be the other's remedy. As the metronomes of their hearts slowed, neither could stop the involuntarily smile that graced their lips.

When they lay on their sides their foreheads bumped together. No words needed to be spoken as they were completely content to bask in the comfort of the other's embrace.


	27. None of Their Business

There were many things in life Temari had assumed she would never have. When she was younger, she never thought she would have a relationship with her youngest brother.

Temari didn't think there would ever be day she wasn't fighting for her life in missions. She assumed that she would always live in Suna. She never dreamed of finding love so she didn't entertain the idea of marriage. Since love and marriage had been deemed impossible, she certainly had not considered having children.

Temari never rushed into anything. She was cautious by nature.

Consequently, she had spent many sleepless nights, tossing and turning, mulling over all the pros and cons before she had made a decision. Unlike some of the other girls she knew, Temari had never longed to be a mother. She hadn't picked out her baby's name at some absurd age like twelve.

But after she had taken a long while to think, certain aspects of parenthood sounded enjoyable, great even. The idea of having a tiny human that was half hers and half his plucked an innate maternal chord somewhere hidden deep inside. If she had a baby, it would become the center of her universe. To have someone who would depend on her completely, who she could love with her entire being, was a very tempting prospect. And it was what he wanted too.

Shikamaru would be an excellent father, nothing like her own. He was fair and caring. So after a long while she had decided that it was something she wanted this as well.

Within a couple weeks of finding out she was expecting Temari was almost an expert on pregnancy.

She had read almost every document and book she could get her hands on relating to the topic. None of her body's changes would come as a surprise. If she followed the books, it should be quite easy. All she had to do was suffer through her morning sickness, take her vitamins and show up at doctor's appointments.

But there was something the books hadn't prepared her for; people. Why did they just assume that she wanted their help?

If she had been some civilian man's wife things may have been different.

Temari herself had been guilty of smiling once or twice at an expecting mother on the street. She knew that people would naturally want to help her, carry bags, and get up from their seats so that she could sit instead. It was, unfortunately, part of the deal. But her steely disposition would allow her to bark at anyone who treated her with fragility.

What she hadn't been prepared for was just how nosy people could truly be.

She just had to marry a war hero, Temari thought bitterly. Everyone in Konoha knew him, and now by extension, her.

It had only taken days for news of their engagement to spread like wildfire throughout the village. Everyone had been giving her advice from what she should do with her hair; wear for a dress to where the ceremony should take place. The last thing she wanted was meddlesome strangers telling her how to take care of herself and her baby.

Despite friends and relatives praising her, assuring her that she would be a good mother, Temari knew that she was horrible at being pregnant.

Unlike Hinata and Ino, she wasn't a natural. She hated that she had to give up her training routine. Of course she did it for the health of the baby. But she fought help every step of the way.

And this was how she had concocted her scheme.

Temari had gone out and bought several tunics, all of which had very high waistlines. It was the perfect solution. They were comfortable and easily hid her ever swelling stomach. Nobody stopped her on the street and no one she worked with even knew of her 'delicate condition'.

It had worked for a while, but when Shikamaru pulled her aside one day she couldn't understand why he was so upset. It wasn't like she was hiding herself out of shame. All of their friends and family knew. But he just wouldn't see it from her point of view.

He had accused her of not being as excited about this as he was, resulting in their first real argument since they had been married.

If she wasn't so hot headed she could have remained calm. And the whole thing would have blown over eventually. But that was impossible. Somewhere in the middle of their heated discussion she had snapped.

"Fine, if you don't believe me, I'll prove it to you."

Temari stomped off to their bedroom and grabbed the tightest shirt she owned. From just looking at it she could tell it would hardly fit over her five month baby bump. As predicted, it took her a while to force it on. When she looked in the mirror she smirked because Temari knew there was nothing he could do to win now.

The fabric was so snug that her stomach seemed to drastically protrude. She caressed it lightly, a little sad that her special secret would soon be common knowledge. Of course she was excited. How could he accuse her of anything else? She just didn't see how her happiness had to be everyone's business. But if there was one thing she was it was competitive. And losing, especially to him, was something she really hated.

"Here," she walked back into the hall, "follow me for one day like this. If no one tries to give me unsolicited advice, tells me what they think the gender is or says I'm glowing or some other nonsense like that, you win. I'll burn all those shirts you seem to hate so much."

"Those don't seem like very fair rules. People are just like that Temari. Is it really so bad?"

She didn't think she was being too difficult. All she wanted was to go to the store without being drawn into conversation. But shirts wouldn't hide her forever, she reasoned. Perhaps she was being just the tiniest bit unrealistic. Already, people stared at her a little too long when she walked by. Maybe she should just go out with a bang. At least they were in it together. He wouldn't be able to escape the questioning either.

"Fine," she whispered, conceding.

"What was that?"

He leaned in a little closer with an idiotic grin. She lunged forwards and stepped on his foot. Smiling in return as he grimaced, she strutted to the door and called in a sing song voice,

"I'm leaving. Catch up when you can cry-baby."

Her original plan was that she would go about her daily business and he would quietly watch from the shadows. What an optimistic thought that had been. Of course he would insist on walking right in step with her, their arms linked. It was quite possibly worse than she could have imagined.

Her stomach all but stopped people in their tracks. It was as if a giant sign was pointing towards her. Look here, look here, it would read. While she was dying of embarrassment and her face was burning red. He was ecstatic, actually waving to people as they walked by.

"Don't encourage them," she hissed.

"I'm not," he lied unconvincingly.

His smile couldn't get any wider. It was different for him. She was the one being stared down. Just as she had predicted it wasn't long before the nice lady she regularly saw at the stall where she bought their produce approached them.

"Oh, Temari, I had no idea." The older lady was nice enough. She had never treated Temari like an outsider and was even kind enough to specially import some fruit from Suna. So she had to do her best and force a smile. "Congratulations you two."

"Thank you."

It was Shikamaru who answered, for which she was partially thankful as words seemed to escape her at the moment. Temari could only feign interest as her husband continued to talk to the lady about something or other. She was uncomfortable as strangers passed by whispering, some even being as rude as to blatantly point at her.

It wasn't like she had gotten pregnant out of wedlock! Part of it was her fault, she admitted. If she hadn't tried to conceal it, and allowed people to find out gradually, she wouldn't be in this predicament right now. It was only natural that people would be shocked to see a woman normal one day and then so obviously pregnant the next.

Temari was pulled back to the present by the touch of Shikamaru's hand on the small of her back. The kind lady was walking away from them and he was holding a bag he hadn't been before.

"What's that?"

"It's just some fruits and vegetables that are supposed to be good for the baby."

This is what she had been talking about; the unmerited charity. Perhaps it was a Konoha thing. People in Suna weren't nearly as close knit. Shikamaru seemed unperturbed by her obvious pouting and pulled her along down the street.

Sure enough, several people stopped them, asked them questions, trying to become a part of their personal lives.

'When is the baby due?' 'Is it a boy or a girl? Oh, you don't know? Well, you're carrying high so it's probably a girl.'

Temari hadn't asked for their opinion. While she stewed, Shikamaru was eating all of it up. Some person had even had the audacity to reach out and touch her stomach without asking. Temari was so shocked that she couldn't even force her mouth to move and tell them off. Shikamaru just snickered at her.

"This isn't even close to being funny," she snapped, pinching his arm.

"Sure."

He tried to kiss her forehead but she moved out of the way. Giving her an annoyed expression he went back to pulling her across town. But she wasn't going to let him off so easily.

"It really isn't. How would you like it if people you didn't know just reached out and touched you without warning?" He didn't even appear to be listening which irked her even more. "Where are we even going?" From the looks of it they were heading out of the village. But that couldn't be right.

"I just wanted to say hi to some friends."

There was no one out here but – No it couldn't be. There's no way he was talking about those two idiots who manned the gates. What were their names again? Kotetsu and Izo-Izumi- Izumo? Since when had he been friends with them?

They were absolutely ridiculous, always telling her lame jokes when she used to come to Konoha for ambassadorial duties. Then, while she and Shikamaru had been dating, those jokes had turned crude and dirty. Needless to say, they might just be the last two people on earth she wanted to see at the moment.

"No."

She slammed to a halt and refused to move. With dread she then realized that it was too late, they had seen her. She could strangle Shikamaru right now. Temari did her best to convey a message through the glare she was sending to him.

'_Yeah, yeah, you're proud. Everyone knows I'm knocked up now and that you're the one who did it. Can't we just go home?' _

It didn't work as he called over to them.

"I told you," she was curious about her husband's choice of greeting.

His apparent friends grinned devilishly at each other. Just what was going on here? Catching her confused look, Shikamaru decided to be merciful and filled her in. "They wouldn't believe me when I said you were pregnant." Her eyes widened an inordinate amount. Temari thought they had agreed not to tell anyone but close friends and family. "They kept on harassing me," he explained. That wasn't an excuse! "Now," he continued, "they'll have to accept the truth."

"Are you sure?" Kotetsu, who Temari always thought of as the dumber of the two teased, "Maybe you're not the father."

What?

The temperature outside seemed to drop a couple degrees. Izumo and Shikamaru looked equal parts shocked. All Temari could feel was rage. That man was about to learn an important lesson and that lesson was never piss off the cruelest kunoichi, especially when she's pregnant. Who did he think she was? Some common prostitute who would just sleep with any man and have his child?

"What the hell? Of course he's the father!" she yelled angrily.

Her hands were wrapped around his neck. The doctor had told her no stress or unnecessary over-exertion so she was still in the clear.

This was absolutely necessary.

She was simply defending her honour. Kotetsu desperately looked to Izumo for help. Before she could kill the man in a hormonal rage, Shikamaru had grabbed her shoulders while Izumo pulled Kotetsu out of her grasp.

It wasn't often that Shikamaru had a bad idea but this was definitely one of those times. The idiot was being pat on the back by his friend as he gasped for air.

"Why did you go and say something like that?" Izumo questioned.

"It was a joke," he cried, rubbing his sore neck.

Tch, and she had been accused of having no tact. For a quick second she did feel a little bad for reacting as she did. Perhaps she should have just slapped him. Now that she wasn't seeing red anymore, she began to focus on a strange thumping sound. And a there was a kind of whooshing which was odd since there was no breeze. The thoughtless duo were both looking at her strangely. Was there something on her face?

"Hey, are you okay? You don't look too good." One of them asked, Kotetsu Izumo, she didn't know which because they were melding into one as her vision began to blur.

Oh.

That thumping was her wasn't it? With another two beats of her heart her field of vision became completely black.

The last thing she heard was a shout and then there was just weightlessness.

* * *

She was very comfortable and warm.

Though she couldn't quite open her eyes, she could hear a constant beeping, the scratch of a chair, and the feel of a light breeze on her skin. As her eyelids sluggishly opened, she was met with a blinding, almost ethereal white light. A sharp intake of breath to her left forced her attention that way.

"You're up. Oh, thank god. Temari," her brain was still fuzzy and she couldn't understand why Shikamaru looked so pale and nervous, "I am so sorry. Never again, we'll do things your way, whatever you want."

He wasn't making any sense as he desperately ran a hand across her forehead, brushing her hair away. Little by little, it all started to come back to her.

She had gotten so worked up and then it all went black. Temari looked around the room and realized that she was definitely in the hospital. Everything was too clean and white. She looked at her arm where several tubes were attached to machines and her stomach dropped in dread before panic spread throughout her body.

"Is," she couldn't stop her voice from breaking, "is – the baby..."

She couldn't even finish the sentence because it was too something had happened it would be all her fault. She couldn't feel any pain in her stomach or see anything wrong but that didn't reassure her.

"Yeah," he smoothed her hair, trying to comfort her.

Temari felt like she was going to be physically sick. Just like that the floodgates opened. The torrent of tears that ran down her face was out of her control. "Wait! Temari, no, I meant that everything is fine. I thought you were asking if the baby was okay. You're both fine and healthy."

"Shikamaru," Sakura ground out threateningly from the doorway. "I specifically told you no stress. I only walk out for two minutes and now she's crying and hysterical!"

Temari wanted to defend her husband who now looked like he was in danger of passing out himself. Sakura quickly came to her bedside and began to check the monitors.

"Hey Temari," she said soothingly before going into doctor mode. "So, you had a bit of a scare today. I believe that you collapsed due to overexertion and stress. Luckily, you and your baby weren't harmed since Shikamaru caught you before you fell. In your file it says that you've had dizzy spells before. As your doctor, I strongly suggest that you consider taking leave from your work. And I'll be putting you on bed rest for the rest of the day."

The baby was okay.

That was the only thing she cared about and she had tuned out all the rest. This was it, she wrapped her arms around her stomach to shield the precious life inside, and Temari knew that she needed a serious attitude change. She had to take better care of herself for her baby's sake. She would try her best to remain calm and avoid situations that put her in danger of this sort of thing.

Perhaps she would even accept some charity from strangers.

Regardless of all the books she had read, the morning sickness and how she had watched her body change, Temari only now was hit with the full realization of what carrying a child meant. And it was overwhelming. This was why people asked for help. She couldn't do this all on her own.

In her quest to remain independent she had been incredibly selfish.

She hadn't taken her doctor's advice too seriously with respect to workload. She had ignored the signs of her body, not getting the sleep it yearned for. And most of all she had constantly refused Shikamaru's help, all because she didn't want to appear weak.

But here Temari was in a hospital bed, at her most fragile, being told that someone up there must be looking out for her since, although Sakura never said it aloud, she clearly wasn't.

When Sakura walked out she broke down. Between the gut wrenching sobs, Temari figured that this was the first time she had really cried and in front of an audience no less. It sounded awful to the ear but inside a pressure that had been building up in her chest slowly began to dissipate. She could understand why people did this. It felt like all those years of stored tears were being released in this moment.

Instead of sitting there awkwardly, Shikamaru had leaned right over and gently pressed her head to his chest. And he just held her as she let it all out.

She had so many horrible fears and worries that had been bottled up inside in an attempt to remain strong. Suddenly, she was compelled to just tell him everything. It just spilled out of her.

"I'm such an awful mother," she hiccupped.

She was so ashamed of her actions and how they had almost cost them everything.

"You're not," his voice was uncommonly authoritative. "This wasn't your fault." But it was. "I shouldn't have put you in a position you weren't comfortable in. Tem, I can see it in your eyes that you don't believe me. This was not your fault okay?"

There was something about him that brought out her emotional side. He never judged.

That's probably why she married him. From the darkest and deepest recesses of her heart she revealed her worst fear.

"What if the baby doesn't like me?"

"That's not possible."

It was stupid; she knew that. But how could she not be afraid? She was bossy, tough, and didn't really show affection to anyone outside of Shikamaru.

"You can't know that."

"I'm a genius remember?" With gentle hands he wiped the tears from her face. Temari knew she must look pathetic. "And I know," he rubbed her back, "that he or she will love you because half of my genes are in there." She had to listen to him and make herself believe. Working herself up over this probably wasn't good for the baby. "I'll be the disciplinary so the kid will have no choice but to like you more." She let out a strangled laugh.

"Please, I don't even know if that's something you're capable of. Can we go home?"

"Sakura said you're supposed to be on bed rest."

"Do we not have a bed? This is super uncomfortable and I can't relax with all the beeping."

His lips pressed into a firm line but he agreed and went off to find Sakura. And when she was finally alone Temari did something she had sworn from day one never to do.

"Hi baby it's your mom. I'm sorry for being so stubborn and selfish. But I'm going to be taking better care of us from now on."

A weight was lifted from her chest when she felt a strong kick. She had been so afraid that she would never feel that again. Rubbing gentle circles on her distended stomach, she continued to speak in hushed tones.

When Sakura and Shikamaru entered she abruptly stopped speaking but her hands didn't move. Thankfully, she was released under the condition that she would be at home resting. Temari nodded and took Sakura's words seriously. They walked back home the same way they had come out, arms linked.

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

Hopefully she wouldn't regret doing this. She didn't think she would.

"I'm giving you permission to stop me from doing anything stupid like this again. And - I won't stop you when you're just trying to make things easier for me."

He looked pretty shocked. Temari had just assumed this was what he wanted.

"All right then," he smiled and pulled her close, "you're to rest in bed and not lift a finger while I make dinner."


	28. Easier This Way

**Temari P.O.V**

Temari knew what she was. And it was somewhere in between ugly and beautiful.

Her golden blonde hair might be considered pretty if it weren't so brittle from long days under the sun. Her teal eyes could be stunning if they weren't always squinted in disapproval. Her lightly tanned skin was littered with scars. Lips pink but a little too thin.

Some might call her pretty but nobody would go as far as to call her a classic beauty.

Which was fine, beauty had never been something Temari strived for. She was all about duty, family and bettering herself through hard work. But at some point, every girl had her insecurities, no matter how petty. She was just having hers a little latter than most.

Truly, it didn't matter to her whether she was beautiful but it did matter that one person found her at least a little attractive.

It was the reason she was standing here, feeling like an idiot.

She saw him standing with his team. As always, she was happy to be in Konoha. Whenever she was in this village she could almost forget about all of her troubles at home. Her initial reaction was to call out to them but she was stopped when he turned around to laugh at something Ino had said.

They were friends, just friends, she knew that.

But Ino was the definition of gorgeous and the embodiment of femininity. And it wasn't foolish to wonder. It wasn't like Temari had any sort of claim on him.

Two people who had known each other since infancy, who saw each other almost every day, would have an unbreakable type of bond. It was a connection that she could never hope to infringe upon.

And why wouldn't she fall for him? He was smart, courageous, witty and sentimental.

How couldn't he fall for her?

The heiress to the Yamanaka clan was as delicate and striking as the flowers she so skillfully arranged. Her skin was unmarred and her nails were long and well kept. Ino, while not soft spoken, didn't possess her own sharp tongue. Her lips were full and not pursed in a constant frown.

Her eyes were the same shade of blue as the skies he so often watched; her silky platinum hair was a far cry from Temari's.

Perhaps Temari was smarter and not as silly. But Ino, despite the stereotype, was no fool. She had headed the interrogation unit after her father's passing.

The war had changed people. Loss made people re-evaluate life and what they wanted from it. She knew there were obstacles.

There always seemed to be in her life.

They were from different villages, their three year age difference and the fact that he said women were nothing but troublesome added to all the reasons why it wouldn't work. However, slowly, all those issues became irrelevant to her.

But it had all been wishful thinking. After the war he still didn't show any interest in her.

Temari berated herself; of course it would be the same. Even if all the lands were more united than ever, it didn't mean that people would change so quickly.

So, instead of calling out, her greeting had remained behind closed lips.

* * *

**Ino's P.O.V**

Ino stopped talking when she realized that Shikamaru's head was turned to the left and he was no longer listening to her.

At first, she had thought of hitting him for being rude. But that was before she followed his gaze.

Part of her was surprised to see Temari; the other part fully knew that those two had an uncanny ability to always find the other.

It was so romantic, just like those books her mother used to read to her as a child. But the men in those books were never lazy know-it-alls and the women were definitely not wild warriors. No, Shikamaru and Temari were definitely not the classic fairytale.

Even though she was happy for him, Ino was still jealous. Why couldn't fate have been so kind to her? Where was her beautiful foreign counterpart?

Because, despite being rough and crass, that's exactly what Temari was.

All anyone needed to do was look at Shikamaru's face when she was around.

Just like now, he should really get that smile off his face, it's embarrassing.

Temari was by no means a simple girl. She didn't fit into Shikamaru's boring life plan or whatever he called it. She would never be trouble free but she was straightforward. Maybe that's what her teammate had really wanted all along.

She was uncomplicated in the way that she wasn't one of those women who enjoyed gossip and was easily content to live a life devoid of extravagance.

He constantly griped about women and how their chatter annoyed him. But Ino knew that he would never be able to tolerate any girl who couldn't keep up with him on an intellectual level.

She knew he had wanted someone mediocre looking and Temari couldn't be farther from it. It wasn't just that she was pretty; she had a presence, an air of confidence which surrounded her and unknowingly demanded attention.

You didn't have to have Shikamaru's IQ of 200 to realize that they were meant for each other.

They were both so stubborn and emotionally clueless though.

For whatever reason, they refused to admit what everyone else already knew was true. Ino wouldn't pretend to know why they chose to do this.

But she could see by the way he wordlessly left her and Chouji to walk over to Temari, from the way the Sunan girl couldn't fight her smile that it was meant to be. She would just have to help her idiotic genius find the courage to as her out.

Before Shikamaru could notice, she motioned to Chouji that they should leave the two alone. For once, he was in cahoots with her and not Shikamaru.

They just wanted their teammate happy and, if he didn't realize what was good for him, they'd show him.

* * *

**Shikamaru's P.O.V**

He didn't really know why but his head had turned, seemingly of its own volition. But it didn't disappoint.

He hadn't been expecting her here so early. Unexplainably all of his work and familial stressors faded into the background and it was just her and his feet moving him forwards.

God, he had it bad.

Shikamaru was still a self-proclaimed coward though and he couldn't bring himself to make his feelings known for fear of them being unrequited or him being beaten to a pulp. That didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate the warm feeling that coursed through him at the sight of her smile.

It was moments like this where he allowed himself to cheat, to take advantage of the very little free time he seemed to have.

Everything was about work these days but for a few minutes he could allow himself to forget.

"I almost didn't see you there."

Lies, it was as if some sort of tracking device was implanted in him when it came to her.

"You did seem...distracted."

A stranger wouldn't have noticed anything. But he had worked alongside her for many years, knew her too well and, sadly, he prided himself on all but memorizing her different expressions and tones. Something about the infliction of her words sounded melancholy. He couldn't make sense of it but he wanted to fix it. The laziness was driven from his character momentarily.

"What's wrong?"He hoped his own voice didn't unmask the degree of his true concern. "We were just going for lunch you should join us."

He turned around for Chouji and Ino's approval but was met with a vacant street.

Great, now his friends had gone and deserted him.

"You should go catch up with them. I'm sure they're waiting."

He could only see the top of her head as she spoke to the ground. Suddenly, he was struck by an onslaught of emotions.

Hurt by her easy dismissal of him. After all this time, why was she so eager to send him away?

There was disappointment for the unreciprocated nature of his excitement.

Surprisingly, anger was also present. And he couldn't quite place it. Perhaps it was everything listed above or maybe it was the way in which she refused to look at him, denied him access to that failsafe that always revealed her inner thoughts.

"Maybe I will go. It would be a lot easier than standing here, trying to figure out what your problem is."

"Excuse me?"

Her head shot up so fast he was surprised she didn't get whiplash. The words had come out harsher than he intended. He grinned against his will. Temari was probably the only person who had the ability to make him lose his cool.

"Now you're laughing at me?" she accused incredulously. Temari growled in frustration before stomping away from him. Shikamaru found that he could walk alongside her at a leisurely pace; his legs were quite a bit longer. This only proved to anger her more.

He didn't know exactly what it was that made him say it. Her golden blond hair, her teal were burning with anger. She was maddening but she was, "beautiful." Slowly, her steps stopped.

"W-what?" Her face was cherry red so she must have heard.

"I didn't say anything."

There was an uncomfortable feeling deep in his stomach and he realized that it wasn't because he was embarrassed but because he wanted to be able to reaffirm that statement and couldn't bring himself to do it.

And she didn't move to call him out on it either.

No, in true shinobi like fashion both pretended that, for a moment, their emotions hadn't gotten the best of them. They would pretend that none of this had ever happened. He would pretend that it wasn't the truest thing he had uttered. She would pretend she hadn't been completely elated as she hid her shy smile.

It was just easier that way.


	29. Naturally Defiant

"Come on Shikadai. Say dada."

His voice was high and lilting. As he spoon fed his son he made several weird faces, hoping to persuade the baby. If anyone were around, especially his wife, he would never live this down.

At this point, he didn't know if his son was just being lazy, something he could only blame his own genes for, or if he was being stubborn. So far the boy seemed to be acquiring several of his wife's lovely but, at times, more frustrating qualities.

Unlike himself, Shikadai, when awake, was constantly on the go. He couldn't even walk yet but he could roll and his little hands were always getting into things they shouldn't be.

Temari had thrown a fit when Shikadai had found his kunai. Shikamaru had thought he had placed them out of reach but apparently not.

Despite his limited vocabulary, which consisted of 'mama' and 'no', Shikadai was very chatty, always cooing, always babbling. Grandma Yoshino was ecstatic that Shikadai seemed to have at least some zest for life, unlike her own son had at this age.

Shikamaru himself was proud of his son's accelerated advancement. But one thing was bugging him.

Shikadai was so smart and active. Why couldn't he just say dada? Wasn't it supposed to be easier to say than mama anyways?

Regardless of Shikamaru's efforts, Shikadai remained in his high chair, puréed strawberries and bananas dripping from his mouth. The baby's breakfast continued to dribble onto the 'grandma's favourite' bib his mother had gotten her grandson.

"Dada," he repeated.

How had Temari gotten him to say mama? She told him to just say the word over and over again.

"Mama – mama – mama," his son responded, rubbing the contents of his breakfast all over his face and through his hair.

Great, it looked like he was now on bath duty. Out of nowhere Shikadai let out a ear splitting screech and hit the bowl off the highchair and started laughing at his father's bemused expression. Strawberry mush now coated the floor and his face. Before Shikamaru could so much as grab a washcloth to get rid of some of this mess he heard the door open.

"I'm back," Temari called out as she rounded the corner.

He warily watched her take in the scene. Her eyes scanned the red mess on the floor before rising up to see her son covered in baby food. It looked like she was about to say something, but when she turned to face him, Temari began to laugh uncontrollably. It was a crass laugh too. Hastily, he swiped his cheek to remove his fruit facial.

"How is it," she managed between laughs, "that I'm only gone for ten minutes and everything is a disaster?"

Well, even though she was laughing at him, it was a lot better than yelling at him. Once she had gotten a hold of herself, Temari seriously took in her surroundings. "In all honesty though, what were you doing?" she questioned.

"It's not like I told your son to throw his food around."

"Oh, so he's _my _son once he's done something you don't like?"

She had one eyebrow raised and he knew it was time to tread carefully.

"No," he carefully reassured her.

He picked Shikadai up, in part because the kid needed a bath but also because, if worse came to worse, he would be the best shield. Temari wouldn't even so much as yell at him when Shikadai was in the same room.

"He's your son because every time I try to get him to say dada he counters it with mama...then he throws his breakfast at me."

His wife sniggered and reached for a towel to clean up the mess.

"You shouldn't worry about it so much. He'll say it eventually, in his own time."

There was a small portable bath they kept for Shikadai in the kitchen. He was not the tidiest eater but today he had definitely reached new heights. Shikamaru ran the water, testing it to make sure it wasn't too hot. Shikadai struggled in his grasp as he tried to reach towards the tub.

Screeching, squirming, throwing things, this was definitely Temari's kid.

When Shikamaru was finally able to get him in the water he turned on his wife.

"You have to admit it is a little odd though."

"Actually I don't," she flippantly brushed off his concern. "Inojin and ChōChō haven't even said their first words yet. We can't go expecting too much of him."

"He'll probably say Naruto before dada at his rate," he grumbled.

"Na-Na," Shikadai happily babbled, swishing the water around. Shikamaru's head spun around to face his wife with an 'I told you so' expression.

"I'm sure that was just a fluke," she supplied, but the nervousness in her voice betrayed her.

The universe really liked to screw around with him.

Sensing his disappointment, Temari walked up to the pair and helped to wash Shikadai's hair.

"Say dada, daadaaa," she prompted.

Thankfully, he stopped saying the beginnings of Naruto. If the seventh had been here, Shikamaru would never have heard the end of it. Truthfully, he didn't know if he himself would ever be able to get over it if his son said Naruto before dad.

However, Shikadai was now distracted by Temari's hair, which he reached up to yank on. Proving her kunoichi days were not behind her, Temari quickly retreated and held his hands. "No Shikadai. No pulling."

"No, no, no, no, no." The kid was like a parrot.

"Aw, no one can stay mad at that face," she easily forgave her baby. He sighed as Shikadai became enraptured by the faces his mother was making. "You shouldn't pout like that," she chastised.

Jeez, the woman had eyes on the back of her head.

"I'm not."

"Shika," she admonished gently, "just because he's not saying it doesn't mean that he likes you any less."

Temari passed off the freshly cleaned, toweled bundle. Even if he was second best, he didn't mind. Shikamaru couldn't blame Shikadai. Temari was almost always the one who got up with him at night, fed him and played with him. Shikamaru worked gruelling hours, at times. The most he got with his family was weekends and evenings.

Shikadai let out a tiny yawn and an involuntary smile spread across his face. The combination of food and a warm bath had made the baby sleepy.

"I'm going to put him down for a nap." Temari merely nodded in acknowledgement.

He walked into the nursery or what he had coined 'the green room'. Shikamaru struggled to get Shikadai into his clothes as the boy was slumped over, practically asleep already.

The baby looked at him through unfocused eyes, but Shikamaru swore he could see some annoyance there. He was probably upset that his dad hadn't allowed him to simply fall asleep in a towel; definitely his kid.

Feeling merciful and greatly amused by Shikadai's grumpy face, Shikamaru set him down in the crib. He chuckled as his son's eyes flew wide open the second he hit the blankets, as if to say he wasn't really tired and had been faking it the whole time.

"You're a lot more defiant than I was. You never want to do anything unless you think it's your own idea, just like your mother. How bout we make a deal?" The infant in the crib looked up seriously, as if he could understand what was being said and was truly considering the offer.

"No more prodding. But in return it has gotta be my name first okay? Names of objects and animals are fine I guess. But mom and dad have to be first."

He couldn't help himself from stroking that new fuzzy brown hair. Shikadai let out a little yawn which then morphed into something else entirely.

"Da."

It wasn't very loud but it was crystal clear, too precise to be accidental.

As he stood beside the bassinet, he felt no need to go tell Temari. The moment felt, almost, too personal. She would hear him say it soon enough.

Right now, only the two of them needed to know.

Naturally, it was the time he had honestly given up trying to persuade Shikadai that the baby would choose to comply.

"You're something else, kid."


	30. Uncle

He was very excited to become an uncle. Family was very important, for so long it had just been the three of them.

Gaara didn't know the first thing about babies or children for that matter.

Kankuro thought babies were like puppets, he thought everything was like a puppet, a plaything. He took a much more contemplative stance on his impending responsibility as uncle.

Gaara knew he was even less knowledgeable on children, any sort of human relationship really. He knew that, even though the child would grow up in Konoha, Gaara's own past and title as Kazekage would affect his nephew sooner or later. The council had already shown an interest in any heir that was to be born of the three siblings.

He was determined to do right by his sister's unborn child but, like any human, he had doubts.

"Temari?"

"Mm," she was busy watering some plants on the window sill.

He was in Konoha right now, partially because of meetings but mostly to see her. Although there had been no complications in her pregnancy, Temari was in no way, shape or form fit to travel. All of the sudden his mouth felt dry and he didn't really know how to begin, couldn't remember what he wanted to say.

He saw her put down the watering can and lower herself down on the chair next to him. He wanted to help her, but Shikamaru had warned him that, although she was getting better at accepting her fragility, it made her feel very uncomfortable.

It looked like she could have the baby any day now, which made him even more eager to talk about these pressing matters.

But he couldn't help staring at her. He wondered if his own mother had looked down at her stomach as affectionately as Temari did.

"Gaara what's wrong?"

He felt rather than saw her hand on his leg. She looked at him in earnest. When they were little they had basically been strangers.

Only recently had Kankuro and Temari truly felt like siblings and now, to him, Temari truly felt and looked like a mother.

"Do you think it'll be alright?"

There was so much he wanted to say. Could he be trusted around a baby, something so pure and innocent? He was ashamed to admit that he was the slightest bit scared.

The sand's ultimate weapon was afraid of when he would have to look that child in the eye and explain to him about the man his uncle had once been. Now, even though he was changed, he was also responsible for getting Temari and Shikamaru involved in the Suna council's twisted schemes.

"You're going to have to elaborate on that."

"Me, being an uncle to him, am I alright?" There were very few times in life that he had felt so small and vulnerable.

"Gaara," Temari admonished lightly. "Do you not think that he'll like you?"

No, it wasn't himself he was worried for. The last thing he wanted was for any child, related to him by blood or not, to go through was he had, to be ostracized from others.

"The baby is going to be connected to me and my past," he started, "I'm sorry Temari." What if the other children in the village ignored the baby because of him? Temari had put the idea into his mind earlier. What if his nephew really did come to resent him?

"Don't apologize," she threatened through gritted teeth. He was startled by her tone of voice and her fist colliding on the table. "You've done enough of that Gaara. You are not that person anymore and no one would dare hold it over your head now. If your nephew hears anything from anyone about his uncle it will be that they're jealous of how he gets to be related to the Kazekage. So please don't apologize for your existence. He is going to love you and he'll be smart enough to tell the difference between truth and lies."

"But the council..."

"We'll deal with the council when the time comes. You know," she looked off, "I don't always feel comfortable talking to Shikamaru about how we grew up but you were there so you know. For what's it's worth, I don't think we turned out too bad. This baby is going to live so much better than we did. Gaara, you being in his life is going to make it better, not worse."

She looked so sure when she spoke. He trusted her judgement.

"He's kicking. Here," she grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. It was firm and underneath he could definitely feel life there.

Temari laughed at his dumbstruck expression.

* * *

A pair of feet sped down the hallway of the Kazekage's plain but practical tower. Gaara had thought, at first, that something must be wrong. But when his office door swung open he realized that it was just his nephew, Shikadai.

"Uncle Gaara, Uncle Gaara," he ran in all excited, arms up in the air.

Gaara instinctively pushed away from his desk and Shikadai jumped up into his lap. He was growing so fast. It didn't feel that long ago when his nephew was saying his first words and learning how to walk. Gaara's desk was littered with three things, papers, cacti and photos of his nephew. He enjoyed seeing how Shikadai changed every year and was always waiting for the chance to see the Nara family.

At five years old, it was obvious that Shikadai shared his father's intellect and mother's temper.

"Can we make sand castles? Let's go outside." Shikadai looked up to him with eager eyes, green like Temari's. Thinking of Temari,

"Where are your mom and dad?"

"They're talking with uncle Kankuro. He said he would race me up here. And I won! Uncle Kankuro's really slow huh?"

Gaara nodded and smiled affectionately. He enjoyed the simple innocence and naivety that Shikadai held right now. The young boy had only a vague idea of what it meant to be a shinobi and no idea of the fighting that came with such a title.

"Uncle Gaara?"

The kazekage hadn't even realized that he was patting his nephew's head. But his hand never quite reached, since Shikadai's spiky ponytail got in the way.

"Gaara," a new voice entered his office.

Temari and Shikamaru stood in the doorway. It had been years since he had last seen his sister in Suna. It had been a couple of years before she could make the trip across the desert with Shikadai. But even after all of this time, she still fit into the landscape perfectly.

"Temari," he greeted.

She understood that there was more he wanted to say and that he didn't know how. Although he was a man of very few words, his siblings seemed to understand his wordless language.

"How's it going little brother?" Before he could move, Temari had pinched his cheeks.

"Mom, you can't do that! He's the kazekage."

"Ah-ah Shikadai," she sang as his cheeks became sore from her tugging. "Big sister ranks above little brother, kazekage or not." Gaara noticed that Shikamaru stood several steps back and chose not to get involved. He suddenly heard the footsteps of guards down the hall and Temari, thankfully, released him.

"Lord Kazekage," they bowed lowly. "The village elders are requesting your presence."

He spared a look at Shikadai. The boy had deflated a little. He must have caught on and assumed that his uncle wouldn't be able to play anymore.

"I see. Tell them I will come but that I have some construction to oversee first."

"Um," the guard seemed confused. Gaara knew that there was no construction. All of the buildings in Suna had been prepared after the war. "O-of course Lord Kazekage."

Once they left, Temari rounded on him once again.

"We'll leave the two of you to your 'construction'." Naturally, his older sister had figured out his plan to evade the elders.

"What construction?" Shikadai piped up. It was kind of funny to see him struggle to pronounce such a large word. Apparently, Shikamaru had found it amusing as well.

"Have a good time constructing son," he called out before leaving the office with Temari.

"What is constructing?!" His nephew angrily demanded.

"Sand castles," he stated by way of explanation. Gaara could almost hear Shikadai thinking.

"We get to...play?"

"Mm"

"Yaaaay!" Shikadai bounced off his lap and ran out the door. Gaara smiled contentedly before he realized that he was by himself in the office. Quickly he sped up to catch Shikadai before something could happen to him.

This would be the last time Temari and Shikamaru would bring him here if Gaara lost him in the village streets.

"Shikadai," he desperately called after the boy. Several workers in the building looked in awe at this most unusual sight. Their esteemed Kazekage was frantically running down the hall after a small child, it was enough to make anyone laugh.

Gaara didn't mind being laughed at. If this was the price of being an uncle, he would pay it.


	31. Demon Desert

He had experience with rescuing her. It wasn't that she was a damsel in distress who required constant saving; the two of them just had a thing. Hard to explain, but somehow they were always there in each other's moment of need.

Standing in this blazing desert, Shikamaru couldn't believe that he had been naive enough to think that this ability they had may no longer be necessary. The war was over and there were too few rebels and missing ninja to really be counted as a problem.

And the ones who were trouble didn't fall to him and Temari. However, he didn't account for natural dangers.

They were traveling across the desert with some recently promoted chuunin. He was merely going to Suna to spend more time with Temari. The chuunin were on a separate mission.

Suna was as usual, a fiery inferno.

Everything was going as planned until one of the chuunin strayed from their course and ended up running into a hoard of giant scorpions. Shikamaru had been so focused on saving the idiot that he had lost track of the rest of his group; it was a rookie's mistake and he couldn't forgive himself for it.

"What do you mean she's still back there?"

"Temari told us to run and leave. She said she could take care of it," the chuunin protested.

Of course she would do something like that. He didn't know which was worse, the chuunin's idiocy or her pride.

He of all people knew that when Temari said she didn't care about something she did. And if she said she was fine there was a seventy percent chance she wasn't. Shikamaru didn't say anything as he ran back towards the ruins they had just escaped from.

She was such a pain, his girlfriend. Usually he liked that she wanted to do things herself. Temari wasn't clingy. But times like this, when her life was at stake, and she was ready to take on the world by herself, he hated it.

Quickly and silently he stole away into the ruins.

There were too many in here for him to fight by himself. Hell, there were too many from both him and Temari combined to defeat.

The best case scenario would be to slip in, unnoticed, find Temari and make a run for it. These things gave him the creeps. Even from where he was, he could hear them scuttle along the stone and it sent shivers up his spine. He had nothing against bugs when they were normal sized. He raced past the crumbled rock and sand dunes. The last place he had seen her was just a little farther west.

And as he came over the next hill he saw her. Shikamaru couldn't figure out how it happened but they always found each other at their weakest moments. Now, he could allow himself to partially concede that it must be some sort of fate because it certainly wasn't logical.

Temari stood tall, cradling her right arm which was bent at an unnatural angle. She looked miniscule in comparison to the giant insect. There was no way she'd be able to wield her fan with the state of her arm.

Herein lay his biggest problem with Suna. It was sunny all the time; the sky was clear and cloudless.

He was at a large disadvantage.

Really there was only one thing he could do.

"Temari," he yelled.

Maybe if he played the distraction for a bit they could come up with something together. She whipped her head around at his call.

"What are you doing?" she hissed angrily as he approached her and placed himself in between her and the scorpion.

"Saving you," he bluntly replied.

It was then he noticed the crumpled bodies of three other scorpions. She raised an eyebrow as if to say '_from what_?' So maybe she had done most of the work but she still needed help.

"I was doing fine," she retorted. Stubbornly she tried to straighten her injured arm. He was surprised she didn't draw blood from how hard she was biting her lip.

"Troublesome." He sized up their opponent and went over their escape routes.

Luckily, she had taken care of most of them. Temari let out a curse as the scorpion in front of them started to click its threatening pincers.

"What?" He questioned all though he felt that he knew the answer. The sand around them started to shift and he thought he saw the tip of a black tail poke through.

"It's calling for help. Run!" she shouted.

He didn't need to be told twice. Why did these things always happen to him? All he wanted was to spend time with his girlfriend and ignore the massive amount of paperwork he had left behind in Konoha. Now, he was running for his life in the god forsaken desert.

Shikamaru actually found himself thinking of the most forgettable person he knew, Shino. If he were here these bugs wouldn't have been a problem.

"In here," Temari pulled his sleeve and they ducked into a small pit. "Be quiet and stay still." They watched with baited breathe as the monsters, because at this point that's what he thought of them as, charged past. "Scorpions can sense vibrations through the hairs on their legs. We should be safe as long as we try to stay on the rock and off the sand."

Even now when he was supposed to be rescuing her, she had saved him. And Shikamaru had no doubt that he would be spending the rest of his life with her. She was brave, bossy and beautiful all in one. He could finally admit that he liked that combination.

"What?" she whispered. Oh, he must have been staring.

"Nothing, you just seem to know what you're doing out here."

"Well I should," she huffed, "I've only been living in the desert for twenty three years."

There was something seriously wrong with him, even when she was bragging he thought it was cute in its own bizarre way. "Are you coming Lazy? I'm not staying around here to become dinner." He followed her out of their secluded hiding place. Running at top speed, they managed to evade a second encounter with the scorpions.

"Where did you leave those chuunins?" she asked.

"Do we really have to go back for them?" From the look in her eyes, he already knew the answer.

"They might have some medical supplies with them."

He had almost forgotten Temari's arm. Now that they were out of immediate danger he stopped to inspect it.

"Ouch! Watch it!" He applied some pressure and concluded that it was in fact broken. The only thing they had which could be made into a makeshift sling was her obi. He began to untie it before Temari's good arm connected with his face. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What? What do you...did you think I was...I'm just trying to make a sling for your arm!" he shouted.

Shikamaru could feel his cheeks start to burn with embarrassment.

"I can do that myself," she shouted back.

Why did she have to be so obstinate? Sometimes it was almost too much for him to bear. However, it was rather funny to see her try and make a sling with only one good hand. He sighed and figured that if he didn't help her now she would only yell at him for it later.

"Why can't you just accept help willingly like a normal person?" he muttered as she gave in momentarily and allowed him to tie a sling. Temari stood there, pouting, as he assessed her further. Her legs were bruised up and one ankle was red, swollen, possibly twisted.

"Okay, come on," he motioned for him to climb onto his back. They would be significantly slowed down with her injuries.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"I can assure you I'm not. Are you going to make this easy or will I have to force you?"

She looked around the desert, as if to make sure no one was watching. Ridiculous, they were the only people around for miles.

"You're not going to tell anyone about this," she threatened as she climbed on.

"Mhm."

"And you're putting me down before we get to the village gates."

"Sure."

"Stop smiling, this isn't funny at all."

"Right," he agreed. Shikamaru was very much enjoying this though. Finally, he had something to hold over her head.


	32. First Christmas

The crisp air was exhilarating. All around people in large coats bustles about, eager to return home and warm up. There were last minute shoppers trying to buy Christmas gifts before the stores closed. These haggard buyers were quickly making their way back to their homes, not wanting to get caught in the flurry of snow, but not her.

Temari loved the holiday season, the music, the baking and the lights. More so than all of that, she loved the weather; snow in particular. Despite being no stranger to the white fluff, she was no less enraptured by it.

She swore she could probably stand under a street lamp for hours, looking up at the night sky as the snow rained down. Her partner however was less impressed by it all.

"Temari, can we go back now? It's freezing out here."

Shikamaru furiously rubbed his glove covered hands up and down his arms. He too was wearing an oversized winter coat and boots. He probably should have worn a hat but there was no way anything could fit over that hair. She saw his teeth chatter and felt a little bad for keeping him out so long. Both of their cheeks were rosy by now and she reasoned that the snow would still be there when they woke up.

"Fine, fine, you don't have to be such a baby about it."

With purpose, she began the trek by towards the Nara estate. She enjoyed the sounds her feet made as the snow crunched beneath them. It was her first Christmas in Konoha. Everything was so different than Suna at this time of year. There weren't very apparent seasons in the desert so Christmas often looked like every other day. People put up decorations and everyone knew it was a special holiday but it wasn't anything like this.

Snow coated the village and lights were hung from trees, making everything seem warm in spite of the frost. Everyone in Konoha decorated their homes and gifts were even exchanged by neighbours, not just family. Temari suddenly became aware that it was only her own feet crunching in the snow. She turned around to make sure her husband hadn't succumbed to frostbite. They had only been married a couple of months and she was too young to be a widow.

Instead of seeing a human-popsicle, when she turned she was met with a fistful of snow. It took her a couple seconds to fully comprehend what had just taken place. She saw him standing a couple paces away, arm extended, and a wicked smirk on his face.

Had he really just thrown a snowball at her? What were they, six?

Regardless of questioning the maturity of his act, she found herself instinctively retaliating in kind. They must have looked foolish. Two high-ranking and notable shinobi should not be seen having a snowball fight. But they were. Truthfully, civilians who happened to pass by would find it rather frightening. After all they weren't children but skilled fighters.

They had speed, stealth and precision. The snow that had been thrown at her was now starting to melt and her coat quickly became damp. Temari decided to get in one more hit before calling it quits. But she was suddenly stopped by a lack of mobility in her arm.

"That's not fair," she pouted.

He made no inclination that he had heard her as he kept walking forwards. He had a smile fixed on his face and a lump of snow in one had.

"I swear, if you throw that at me like this..," she trailed off, leaving him to imagine the worst case scenario. They were face to face when he brought his hand up. She squeezed her eyes shut and prepared herself for the cold wet snow. But it never came.

Instead she felt frozen lips upon her own. Usually, this would warm her up in a second but they had been outside too long. When she tried to take a step back to persuade him to go back home, he merely closed the gap between them again.

"Shika," she protested as she was backed up against a tree. Temari was afraid that they'd never get to leave at this rate. However, gravity did the job for her as a large dump of snow fell on them from the branch above, effectively ending his affections.

Both were opened mouthed and wide eyed as the stinging chill ran down the tip of their spines. Neither had to say anything before they were both practically running back to their house.

One pair of dry clothes, warm blankets and several heating pads later, Temari lay in bed. She wasn't usually clingy; she left the mushy stuff for him. But tonight she needed the extra body heat so Temari wrapped her arms around him in a hold almost too constricting to be called a hug, not that he minded she was sure.

If he were to comment, she would point out that he had fired the first shot.

* * *

"Ah-ah-choo!"

She awoke next morning, Christmas, how she had suspected she would the previous night. Her nose was stuffed up and she was still chilly, even with all their blankets. Shikamaru looked no better.

Apparently, he had gotten up sometime in the night as there was now a box of tissues on his nightstand and a small mountain of them piled on top. He opened a bleary eye to look at her and she thought he might be feeling even crummier than her.

"Morning," her voice sounded lower than usual and she couldn't help but to laugh at herself. He smiled at her amusement.

"Mornin'," he sat himself up and it looked like it took a lot of effort.

"We're really stupid."

"We're geniuses," he muttered and reached for some more tissues, offering her one in the process.

Their first Christmas together and they were stuck in bed.


	33. Shadows

It was a very relaxed summer evening in Konoha. After such a warm day, the light breeze was much appreciated. The sun was just starting to set, colouring the sky orange and setting shadows on the walls. Temari was cutting up vegetables, preparing for dinner while Shikamaru, who had just returned from work, was looking over some papers at the kitchen table. In the living room, Shikadai was playing with some toys.

A year had just about passed since their son had been born and things were finally starting to slow down. Thankfully, he was no longer waking them up every couple of hours. He had also stopped teething. The two of them were very level headed but even they were just about at their wits end with all the screaming and crying Shikadai had done as his teeth came in.

Now, the family was relishing in this long forgotten peace. The only sounds were the shuffling of papers and the sizzling of food on the frying pan. Temari idly thought about how fast time seemed to be passing by as she stirred. Just over the course of two years she had gotten engaged, married and became a mother. Only one year old and Shikadai seemed to be growing at a lightning pace.

He was already walking and had quite an impressive vocabulary for his age. Shikamaru had already introduced him to the shogi board, and while there was no way their infant son would be playing any time soon, her husband said that familiarizing him early on would make his game better. She didn't really understand. Temari wondered if Shikaku had done that with Shikamaru. If so, her husband was essentially just trying to create an opponent worthy of him in the future. Precious time felt like it was slipping away so fast that Temari had been extra diligent in documenting all of Shikadai's milestones.

'We have more pictures of Shikadai than my father ever looked at me,' she thought wryly. It was true. Not even one and, between Temari and Yoshino, Shikadai already had three baby books. Technology had advanced so quickly after the war that it was now possible to even take videos, these she could send to Gaara and Kankuro. A squeal from the living room made her jolt.

Although it wasn't followed by crying, it was much too loud to be a sound of contentment. At the same time she dropped her spoon, Shikamaru had dropped his papers and they raced in to see what had happened.

Temari let out a sigh of relief when they rounded the corner and saw that Shikadai was completely fine. Their son hadn't even noticed the two of them as he was completely engrossed with something on the ground. Shikadai was standing up and focusing rather intently on the long black shape in front of him. The two parents hid behind the doorway and watched their son with amusement as he discovered his own shadow. Shikadai's eyes bugged slightly as he moved his arms and the black shape did the same.

The Nara clan's association with shadows started at a very young age, Temari figured. The two of them tried their best not to laugh as Shikadai lifted his feet off the floor, even ran around a little in an attempt to detach himself from his shadow.

One of them must have made a sound because Shikadai suddenly looked over.

"DA!" he pointed at his shadow, very eager to announce his new discovery. His eyes shone with curiosity.

"It's your shadow," Shikamaru explained, although he knew his son wouldn't be able to grasp such a concept.

Shikadai proved to be more fascinated by his father's own black shape as he stepped into the room. Shikamaru's shadow extended towards Shikadai until it touched the boy's toes. Their son stumbled backwards as if he had been physically touched. Shikadai looked up at her pleadingly, trying to compel her to come over and save him.

"It's okay. Come here," Shikamaru urged Shikadai forwards. He was a little wary but he slowly conceded.

Temari watched with affection as Shikadai was placed in his father's lap. Shikamaru began to manipulate the shadows all around the room and her son's large green eyes grew impossibly wide. Thankfully her husband had the sense to shape the shadows into friendlier forms, like the deer Shikadai was so fond of, instead of the usual menacing black tendrils. Those might have given him nightmares and she didn't know of a single Nara who was afraid of shadows.

"Mama," Shikadai pointed towards the shadow animals on the wall and she made a show of pretending she was seeing this for the first time. Moments like this made her feel very grateful. She was extremely happy that she could give Shikadai memories like this. Memories of family, with a mother and a father who wanted to spend their time with him.

The expressions of amazement Shikadai was making were even more amusing than the shadow show in Temari's opinion. Shikamaru obviously thought so too as he frequently looked down to see his son's amazed face.

"You might have started something you'll regret later on," she commented. Shikamaru stopped and turned to her questioningly. "I don't think this is something he's going to get tired of anytime soon," she explained, "he'll probably demand that you show him again and again until you're completely drained of chakra." On cue, Shikadai made a frustrated noise as his father's attention had been stolen away, making the shadows vanish as well.

"Heh, troublesome child," Shikamaru ruffled Shikadai's spiky hair and quickly gave in to his demands and manipulated the shadows once more. "If he's anything like me, he'll get bored of it soon enough."

"And if he's anything like me, he'll do his best to prove you wrong now that you've said that."


	34. Vessel

He was alone now. The cicadas were chirping somewhere above in the tall trees of the Nara forest. The distinct scent of summer, a mix between warm earth and flowers, filled the air. She had been sitting with him until moments ago and now he could fully reflect on her words.

What she had said, it shouldn't have upset him so much. It was such a Temari thing to say that it shouldn't have come as such a surprise. Relief washed through him as he thanked his lucky stars that he had been able to withhold his gut reaction.

She would have accused him of being too protective and sensitive. There wasn't anything he could do about those sorts of feelings. They were hardwired inside of him and seemed to magnify in issues that concerned her. Why would he not be upset when he had witnessed firsthand all of the hardships Naruto had to suffer through, when he had seen the physical toll it had taken on Gaara and knew that the majority of them were now dead. They were nothing more than vessels in the eyes of the hidden villages and she had actually wanted to be one.

He sighed into the palms of his hands. It was very difficult for him to remain objective when it came to Temari, her wellbeing in particular. The desire to protect your family, he could understand that. But she was willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of a village that had never shown her or her siblings any kindness until recently.

Constant attempts had been made at Gaara's life; Kankuro and Temari were not exempt from these. The three of them had been ostracized until Gaara had become Kazekage.

What made him angry, sad, was imagining how she would have changed, knowing she would never have been the same Temari he had fallen in love with. The mere thought that she could have died at the hands of the Akatsuki was enough the make the muscles in his chest constrict.

But she had said she wanted it, knowing the costs. And he couldn't stop the onslaught of images that appeared in his mind. If it were Temari who was made the jinchuuriki instead of her brother would they have fought in the chuunin exams?

Images of a young Temari, completely alone, sporting the dark under eye circles Gaara was famous for, came to him. All of those sleepless nights spent wondering why it couldn't have been someone else. Would the madness have broken her down like it did her brother? Would Naruto have been able to reach her?

If she were a vessel for the Shukaku instead of Gaara, she never would have been an ambassador, so they wouldn't have seen each other as frequently as they did. Even if everything had worked out, if, by some miracle, she had lived through the Shukaku being extracted, if she somehow escaped the clutches of the Akatsuki and survived the war, would they have gotten together? Would Temari be the Kazekage of the sand now?

He knew he was giving all of these theoretical possibilities too much thought. There was no point in dwelling on things that would never happen. Shikamaru reasoned his discomfort came from the fact that one person, Rasa of the sand, had such control over his future. All the fourth Kazekage would have had to do was decide his infant daughter was strong enough to host such a monster and the entire course of their lives together would have changed.

Not for the first time, he felt disgusted at himself for being grateful that Gaara was chosen instead, happy that Temari would be living here with him instead of in Suna. People praised him for being reasonable but truthfully he was quite selfish.

He cursed his vivid imagination. Even without the added hardship of being a jinchuuriki, she was still very lonely as a child. He had learned from her brothers that Temari had been forced into a mothering role from a young age. All that time, helping her brothers, who looked after her?

She was his fiancée; of course he knew that Temari was the kind of person who tried to deal with problems by herself.

That way of attacking life head on drew him to her. Temari always felt like it was her duty to solve problems for others. If there was something she couldn't fix, no matter what it was, she always took it as a personal failure. It was no wonder then. She loved her brothers. No doubt, she felt that she had let them down. And she acquitted it to not being strong enough; stupid.

He heard her footsteps approach him from behind. She sat herself back in her previous seat, next to him on the porch. Quickly, he tried to school his expression. He felt her eyes on him and he determinedly looked away, feeling anxious.

"I knew I shouldn't have said anything," she muttered.

Yeah, he didn't like hearing about these kinds of things but he wanted her to feel like she could talk to him about anything. He opened his mouth but no words came out. He felt bad that she was second guessing opening up to him.

What a drag, "I couldn't do anything for Gaara when we were children. I could barely look after Kankuro. I just thought it would be better for it to be me, so they could live easier lives."

"And everyone else?" Had she not factored anyone else into her equation?

"Oh, don't look so sour." she pinched his cheek, "I came up with this idea when I was a little kid. 'Everyone else' didn't exist back then. I don't want to be a jinchuuriki now."

"Mm," he felt slightly embarrassed.

"Anyways," she continued in a lighter tone, Temari didn't let things bog her down, "I wouldn't have made a very good one. I seem to remember my uncle telling me that, even as a baby, I had a pretty foul temper. There would have been a lot more destruction it were me."

Amazingly she could laugh as she said these things. He couldn't stop his own mouth from curving upwards. It was a kind of curse now; if she smiled it took everything in his power not to smile with her. And, most of the time, he didn't want to fight it.

"Yeah, you would have been even more troublesome. I didn't think that was possible."

She scowled at him, but even that expression was beautiful in his eyes. This was reality. At times, it really seemed too good to be true. He looked down at the ring on her hand and felt a swell of pride. It was useless to think about the 'what ifs'. Right now the only thing that mattered was the present.

Instinctively his hands reached out to grab her. She sat in his grasp, back against his chest, smiling that dazzling smile.


	35. Fever

Every now and again his head turned slightly to look at her. However, his concern only seemed to aggravate the woman seated next to him.

The other members sitting around the circular table were put on edge by the angry aura rolling off the woman in waves. Usually, the two people in question remained completely professional, despite their closeness outside of work. Right now, anyone could tell that neither was aware of the tension they had created and that they were completely oblivious to how it was affecting everyone else.

The two were Shikamaru Nara and Temari of Suna, the closest members within the union, seeing as they had known each other the longest and were now dating.

It was quite rare to see them disagree on anything.

Generally, they thought in the same way and would reach a consensus on every matter, except now of course.

All of the other union members had seen it when she walked into the room. Her face was flushed and her characteristically confident stride seemed a tad unsure. No one said anything, they had all been on the other end of Temari's temper at some point and no one desired to relive such an experience.

Shikamaru was the only one who could word his concern in just the right way as to not get injured in the process.

But even he had been a little reticent. He had never seen her ill. She was such a force of nature that it was hard to imagine Temari at anything less than a hundred percent at all times. His concern for her was perfectly normal. However, he knew she wouldn't see it that way, stubborn as she was.

It was all the little things that gave her away. Her flushed skin and slight clumsiness were obvious tells. He doubted that anyone else caught how she blinked slightly more often than usual, revealing her exhaustion. Did they recognize how her voice was higher, more breathy? For all of his observation, Shikamaru was blind to the menacing glare Temari was delivering to her hands as the others tried to continue the meeting.

* * *

Why did he keep looking at her? She knew that she was fine.

Temari didn't get sick, it just didn't happen and that was a point of pride for her. She could count on one hand how many times she had fallen ill in her life. And those times it had been nothing more than a sniffle. She was always back to work the next day. Even though she really did feel terrible, she was determined to suffer through this meeting.

It was only once a month that they met up likes this, so she needed to be here. And she couldn't make everyone change their schedule just for her. But this was proving to be harder than anticipated because she could feel his eyes. And they were chastising her. _Are you okay? Why aren't you in bed? Since when do you catch a cold? _It hurt her already pounding head.

"Temari?"

Crap, she must have zoned out. She hadn't been listening to a single word. Everyone was staring and she turned even redder. Omoi had asked the question and he looked quite nervous as to what her response would be.

"Are you alright?" he repeated. "Maybe we should just have the meeting tomorrow? What if you really are sick and it's some terminal disease," he rambled, "and, since we forced you to sit here, you have to be hospitalized. What if you never recover?" Temari quickly became irritated by all of those impossible scenarios. She slammed her fist down on the table, a move she instantly regretted, as the shock ran straight up to her head.

"I am not dying and I'm not sick! And no one is rescheduling anything."

"Temari," it was the first time he had spoken.

She turned, fully prepared to argue her case. Worried eyes met hers and she suddenly lost the ability to form words. He placed one hand on her burning forehead and frowned.

"Let's take five."

She already knew his game plan. Those five minutes were just his strategy to buy extra time in order to talk her out of this meeting. Despite knowing this, she didn't have the will to stop him. He had done something like this once before the last time he had thought she was sick and Temari had become completely flustered. Now, in front of all these people it was even worse.

She felt like a spoiled child finally receiving the disapproval of a parent for the very first time. It was that frown of his that made her feel like she was causing trouble for everyone here.

Wordlessly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the meeting room and down the hall.

"Where are we going?" she demanded.

He didn't answer which told her that wherever it was, she wouldn't like it. True to her inkling, she quickly recognized their path as the route the infirmary. Wasn't that a little over kill? She glared at him as he dragged her along.

"What are you going to do, admit me? The medics will laugh at you."

"Tch, this is the only place with a thermometer. And, in your state, I'm pretty sure none of the medics would laugh at me."

He ushered her into the room and made her sit down on one of the beds. Her mind was hazy with fever, but she was still conscious enough to feel foolish. Temari saw him talking with a female medic but chose to ignore what they were saying. The bed was actually quite comfortable. It would be okay to close her eyes for a little bit, right?

"I see what you mean," an unfamiliar voice commented right next to Temari's ear.

Just as her eyes opened, the female medic had shoved a thermometer into her mouth, "open up!" she sang. Temari almost gagged.

* * *

Shikamaru snickered at her displeased expression. It reminded him of this one time he had been walking down the street.

There was a crying child and its mother looked like she was at her wits end. In a frantic, last ditch attempt to stop her child from wailing, she had taken a lollipop out of her bag and shoved into the kids mouth. Temari was pouting exactly like that child.

She caught him laughing at her and lunged forwards. Thankfully the medic held her down, although it was a struggle. It was a testament to Temari's strength that even when she was sick she was still capable of wrestling.

"It looks like you have quite a high fever," the medic stated, choosing to ignore their theatrics, as the thermometer beeped. "If you rest, it shouldn't be hard to break." Shikamaru could see the reluctance in Temari's eyes and so could the other woman. "Temari-san, I understand that you have an important position, but if you don't rest your fever will get worse. I don't think you want to be admitted over night." He could see the fight drain from her eyes and her posture turned slouchy.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes," she glared at him. It took her so much effort to admit she was wrong.

"Are you sick?"

"Don't push your luck."

She had already cut him more than enough slack for today. This didn't leave her with much choice. There was no other option than to go back and profusely apologize to everyone and ask for them to move the meeting forward. When her feet hit the floor her muscles felt like jelly. She would have hit the floor face first if he hadn't caught her. Temari concluded that the faster she got to bed the better. Hopefully, it would spare her some humiliation.

"You really are the most troublesome."

To anyone else it would sound like he was upset but that word had long since changed in its definition, at least for them. His tone held nothing but affection. And he seemed very pleased that she had conceded to using his side as a crutch. Well, actually he was supporting most of her weight at this point. And her eyes felt so heavy.

"H-hey! Don't fall asleep on me now. Wait until you're in bed."

"But I'm sleepy," she whined. He stopped and looked at her as if she were a stranger.

"Whining and saying words like 'sleepy', now you really are acting like a child."

Everyone in the union had their own room as they frequented the building so often. The space was an average size, just enough for a bed, stove and small sitting area. His own room looked no different than the day he had first stepped foot in it.

Temari's, however, had been personalized. The cacti on the small table, paintings on the wall and her colourful bed sheets, made it seemed lived in. Shikamaru was too lazy to put any work into individualizing his own room so a lot of the time he just did his work at the small table in Temari's. She would lecture him to use his own place but never actually made him leave.

Once she finally climbed into bed, he made sure to have a glass of water on her nightstand. Her brow was furrowed but it seemed like she was entering a somewhat peaceful sleep. A faint sheen of sweat had broken out on her angry red skin.

The fever was breaking and that knowledge was enough to make him feel like it was safe to leave her and reschedule the meeting with the others. But he was stopped by her hand before he could take a step.

"Where are you going?"

She sounded so pitiful that he almost responded with 'no where'. And really, did he have to go? Everyone probably knew that Temari wasn't well enough and had just assumed they would be meeting at another time.

"It's nap time."

Shikamaru couldn't quite believe his ears. He wished more than anything that he had something to record this with. This was the fever talking, but that didn't make it any less hilarious.

"Nap...time?"

"Mm," she made a noncommittal noise as she pulled him down.

Normally, he would jump at the chance to sleep midday. But this was a very different scenario. Being so close to her in this type of environment made him a bit self-conscious. Somehow the bed made it worse, like he was taking advantage of her while she was sick. There was no way he could fall asleep. Not to mention she was like a human space heater.

Temari was completely oblivious to Shikamaru's unease. Despite being light headed and feverish she was rather comfortable. Everything around her looked hazy, like a dream. Temari simply assumed she was dreaming and was completely content. In her dreams it didn't matter if she clung to Shikamaru or acted needy, it was only her imagination so she moved even closer and succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Too hot, was all she could think as her eyelids fluttered open. Her head felt a lot better but she was burning up.

Quickly she kicked off her blanket. Temari was surprised that her leg connected with something hard and a low groan sounded next to her ear. She wasn't shocked that he had stayed, what alarmed her was that he was in her bed, with his legs and arms flopped over her body no less!

She wracked her brain, trying to remember how they had gotten into this precarious situation. He had taken her to see a medic and then there was a blank period. He must have taken her back to her room and felt that he might as well get in on a nap, seeing as there would be no meeting.

Temari still couldn't quite believe that she had caused so much trouble for everyone. Once again, she could hear Shikamaru mumble something unintelligible. This time, he rolled over a bit, crushing her side. Quickly, she felt the irritation inside her rise.

"Hey, watch it!"

None too gently, she shoved him back with all her strength, ensuring he fell over the edge. With a loud thud he hit the floor and instantly woke up. He glared at her and she glared right back. It was only a couple of seconds before they both broke and smirked. She slid off the bed so that she could sit next to him on the floor.

"Sorry for being so troublesome."

She smiled, not realizing what that look was doing to her boyfriend who was looking at her in a daze. Temari wasn't expecting to feel his lips on hers. Really, why would he kiss her now, after she kicked him out of bed and when she was no doubt looking like a mess?

"What are you doing? You're going to get sick." He looked annoyed at being stopped.

"It'll be a drag but then you can nurse me back to health." She tried to remain impassive but she broke into another grin.

"As if," she scoffed, before leaning back in.


	36. Love Languages

_People express love in many different ways. From one person to the next, the things one does, what they say, changes._

_Like a secret code or mathematical formula, the language of love is so complex that it has been broken down into five distinct categories: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time and physical touch. _

_Everyone experiences all five but one or two will be a primary mode of expression. _

* * *

Words of Affirmation 

"I love you."

"Hah?"

Out of the two of them, he was definitely the more vocal about feelings. Neither really needed to hear any affirmation of love, they never doubted the other. However, Shikamaru got a huge thrill out of Temari's reaction every time he said it. The first time, they have both been incredibly embarrassed. Over time, he became comfortable with such words but Temari never did. She blushed from head to toe and became even more flustered if they were around other people. Every time, without fail, she would blush and mumble out some indecipherable reply. Even though they had been dating for a year, Temari still reacted as if it were her first time hearing those words.

"W-What? Don't be so loud!"

He was speaking at a perfectly normal volume and she knew it. They were out with friends for dinner. Almost everyone here was paired off with someone else and their exchange definitely wasn't the most interesting thing happening as Lee had challenged Chouji to an eating contest. Despite this, her head still quickly turned from side to side to make sure no one had heard.

"Hmm, you want me to say it louder?"

"NO!"

The whole group turned to face them at her outburst. Shikamaru laughed as Temari's face flushed even more. The death grip she had on his arm was a small price to pay for her expression. People lost interest soon and he continued to egg her on.

"Eh, you're not going to say it back? Do you not love me? If I ask you nicely will you say it?"

He leaned further in with each word. Even if she didn't say those three words too often, he knew that she did. If they were alone, she might have said it.

"Why are you being so annoying?"

"Because I lo-," before he could finish, she had slapped her hand over his mouth.

Temari could feel his smirk from underneath her palm. Just because she was too embarrassed to declare her feelings aloud didn't mean that she was opposed to hearing his.

"I love you," her voice was the quietest it had ever been and she spoke to the ground but he heard.

* * *

Acts of Service

When Shikamaru got back from work, he was completely exhausted. Despite him and Naruto working constantly, the pile of papers never seemed to deplete. In fact, maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed to be growing. And he still had to set an itinerary for the upcoming clan meeting. With a sigh, he clutched his head. What a drag! Who knew that being a responsible adult would involve this much work?

All he wanted was to collapse into bed but he steeled himself to tackle more paper work. His work space was a disaster but he knew exactly where he had left everything. Or he would have if everything was still where he had left it.

"Temari," he called out.

Nothing looked the same in here. Papers were stacked in neat piles. Binders were in shelves and color coordinated.

"Yeah?" she called out from somewhere in the house.

"Where's all my stuff for the clan meeting?"

He appreciated the sentiment that came with tidying up the space but right now it was only fueling his headache.

"It's on the table, the stack with the blue note on it."

His eyes quickly scanned his desk and found it without trouble. But when he began to look at the papers he realized that something was off. Everything was filled out, the itinerary set. The writing was much more legible than his own and he easily recognized it as hers. Putting everything back, he went out to find her.

She was already lying in their bed reading a book. Temari wasn't known for being overly affectionate with her words but actions spoke volumes to him. She respected a good work ethic to call him out on his increasing hours. But he knew she was getting a little worried. It meant a lot to him that she would take the time to make his life easier.

He all but threw himself onto the bed. His sore muscles instantly relaxed. She lightly snorted at his childish display.

"Thank you."

* * *

Receiving Gifts

Neither of them is very materialistic. He doesn't see the point in anything that doesn't have a practical use. And everything he needs he already owns. She is no stranger to luxury, being born to a family with high standing. However, no extravagance had been spared on her until her later years. So, she often got by on the bare minimum. He kept clothes until they had holes in them. She was content to use the same pair of shoes until they were completely worn.

Gifts were meant for birthdays or very special events. Even then, their types of gifts weren't material things, they were often trips. So when either of them surprised the other with some type of meaningless luxury, usually small, it was a treat and not so much about the gift itself but the thought which went behind it. They were usually trinkets that reminded them about the other.

* * *

Quality Time

Others had a hard time deciphering their relationship. It wasn't difficult to see that they suited each other. But, despite their obvious chemistry, they didn't act like normal couples did. Well, they didn't act like couples their age. Instead of walking through the village hand in hand, it wasn't unusual for them to simply stay in and play shogi or to sit in a field; he would cloud watch and she would read.

Both were content to simply be together in their spare time. After a very short while dating, they had already begun to look and act like an old married couple. Their relationship didn't have to be a show for everyone to see, no need to dramatise something so private.

Most likely, their approach to spending time together was affected by the distance in between them. Time was something to be treasured.

With three whole days of travel separating them, no moment was ever wasted.

Neither thought it selfish that those times should be just the two of them.

* * *

Physical Touch

Shikamaru and Temari, the obvious couple that everyone was able to see before the two in question realized it.

Shikamaru and Temari, friends turned lovers.

Everyone was amazed by how well they got along, didn't understand how they enjoyed just talking to each other and about work no less. Though all those things were true, there was a completely different side to their relationship which no one else saw.

Despite her brazen personality and his confidence when it came to strategizing, they were reserved about publically displaying their relationship. From what they decided to show, it would be easy for people to mistake them for two good friends with chemistry.

No one had ever seen the couple who reunited after weeks of not seeing each other. Nobody would ever witness how they curled up next to each other for hours, reluctant to be even a step apart after so long.

They were very different with each other when it was just the two of them. It wasn't all talk about work and games of shogi. It took more than conversation to make a baby after all.


	37. Letting Go

Temari had lost track of how many times she had walked up and down the hall outside of the Hokage's office. She was glad that no one else had walked past and seen her. They would have thought she was crazy, pacing around.

It was a wonder that her feet hadn't left an imprint in the floor.

The man behind the door must have sensed her and she was sure he questioning why she didn't just come in. Although, the present Hokage was a shrewd man so he probably already knew why she was here. Temari wasn't enjoying this but she had made a promise to her husband, to her doctor and to herself.

Placing her hand on the door knob she sighed and closed her eyes, steeling herself for this conversation.

"I'm doing this for you," she muttered to her stomach.

Once she opened the door, she was momentarily distracted from her goal. There were papers strewn everywhere, some were even blowing in the wind. A couple boxes of take out littered the desk. She thought back to her own brother's office in Suna and how Gaara always kept everything so neat and orderly.

She realized that being Hokage was a stressful job but how was this village functioning when the he worked in a place like this?

"Temari," he greeted her, "I'm glad you've finally decided to come in."

His face was covered up, save for his nose and one eye, but she could hear the smile in his tone. Her eyes squinted at him as she tried to push down her embarrassment.

"This office is a disaster," she snapped before she could stop herself.

Temari was never one to disrespect her elders and definitely not a Hokage at that, but she was on edge right now. The man in front of her sighed and looked around the space in obvious disdain.

"Your observational skills serve you well but I have a hunch that you didn't come here to critique my cleaning abilities."

Yes, she couldn't allow herself to get distracted. She might just run out of here without saying anything. Just get it over with, she thought, it will be like ripping off a band aid.

"I apologize for being rude."

"Not at all," he was just like everyone else, equating all bursts of anger to hormones.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat, in an attempt to bring his eyes up to her face and not her midsection. "I know that I've already been taken off of active duty."

That was a given. All kunoichi immediately stopped taking missions when they were pregnant. "I've spoken with Sakura and, I'm sorry in advance if this inconveniences you, but she would like for me to take leave from my duties as ambassador as well." Kakashi merely nodded his head. The whole thing suddenly felt oddly anti-climatic. Perhaps he hadn't heard her.

"That would be _all_ the work that I'm doing right now."

"Of course, you should listen to your doctor," he agreed, shuffling through some papers.

"But t-this is so short notice," she stuttered, "I can still perform those duties while you're looking for someone."

"Temari," he stopped her, "with all due respect, I can think of two people right now who would probably have my head if I let you continue as is. Finding someone to replace you will be a lot less _troublesome _than having Shikamaru and Sakura breathing down my neck."

Temari hung her head in shame. She wasn't very surprised that her husband had gone behind her back to talk with him about this.

"And even if it were a hassle," he continued, "I would be happy to do it."

She looked up at the other man with surprise. He wasn't anything like her teacher back in Suna.

The kids he taught, which were no longer children, were truly like his family. And Temari was taken aback at first by how close he was with Shikamaru's team. She had been told that, after Asuma died, Kakashi had taken over as a sort of make-shift leader.

The Hokage really was fond of the children in that generation.

"Uh, well, thank you," was all she could get out as she felt a lump rising in her throat. Why was she so emotional about this?

"It won't be too much longer will it?"

"Huh?"

His question caught her off guard. She hadn't expected to engage in idle small talk. He pointed to her stomach.

"Oh, yeah, I guess so, three more months."

"I'm surprised Shikamaru was okay with you working this long."

"Believe me," she shot him a wry smile, "he wasn't happy about it. But it's not like he could do anything."

He let out a chuckle.

It was very like Shikamaru, he thought, to end up with a woman so headstrong.

"Well, I'm glad that you two have reached a consensus." Temari bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. Now that it was done, she still had no idea what she was going to do with all of this free time.

"Thank you again," she bowed her head slightly before taking her leave. Once out in the hall, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

It was done. Now what?

Shikamaru was out on a mission with Naruto. As the future Hokage, the energetic blonde had a lot to learn about the responsibilities that came with running a village and, as his future advisor, Shikamaru accompanied him.

It wasn't supposed to be a very long mission, only a couple of days. With Hinata due any day now, Naruto was adamant about staying close by. And Shikamaru worried ceaselessly about her even when he was at home, so he was even less pleased with the idea of leaving. Being alone wasn't anything new to her so she had done her best to ease his concerns

* * *

On her way back home, she stopped to pick up dinner, making sure to pick up some dango as she'd been craving it.

She got a little more than she herself could eat in case Yoshino stopped by. Before he left, Shikamaru had enlisted a group of people to stop by and check in on her.

The whole idea seemed silly to her. Their friends would have stopped by even if he hadn't said anything. Nonetheless, the people he had depended on and Temari's own promise to visit the Hokage and take leave from work were the sole reasons he had accepted the mission in the first place.

It was strange coming back to an empty house, eating with no one sitting across from her at the table, sleeping alone.

Well, she wasn't entirely alone. Temari was slightly comforted by the fluttering in her stomach. As much as she didn't like to admit it, she was occasionally victim to her hormones and they sure did make life a lot more difficult.

Shikamaru had gone away on missions since they'd been married but she could never remember missing him so much.

If she kept thinking about it and moped around, he would be able to tell something was up the minute he got back. Temari had to distract herself. She couldn't cry.

Suna turned Konoha's cruelest kunoichi had to remain strong, even if she didn't feel it.

Curled up in the fetal position on his side of the bed, she certainly didn't look like the picture of strength.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that Temari's heart leapt out of her chest when the mattress suddenly dipped. It took everything in her not to scream at the sudden intrusion.

When she twisted around and saw him she didn't know whether to pull him into an embrace or a choke hold.

Her heart was still beating frantically so she did neither. Shikamaru almost laughed at her expression before realizing how truly terrified she had been.

"Sorry, I thought you would have heard me come in."

"Why would you think that?" she snapped, getting control over her voice once more. "I was almost asleep." Not really, but that excuse sounded a lot better than 'I was having a pity party'. "Besides, you weren't supposed to be back for another couple of days. How would I know it was you?"

"Alright, alright," he scratched the back of his neck, a habit he had never grown out of, "I get it. Our mission was shorter than expected so we just decided to come back."

Translation, we slaved as hard as we could to finish early so we could come back faster.

"I was doing perfectly fine here," she attested, which was a complete contradiction to what she was feeling moments ago. He sized her up with his eyes, not buying a single word of it. Why hadn't she married someone with an IQ below 170?

"Hmm, so that's why you're sleeping here instead of there," he pointed to her side of the bed. Temari felt her face grow warm at being caught red handed. Her nerves were causing the baby to move around a lot more than usual. She rubbed her stomach, which instantly pulled his eyes from her face to her hands.

"There was a draft on my side." She heard him chuckle, his focus still on her middle.

"Okay," he relinquished, although both of them knew she was lying. His hands eagerly joined hers to press against the extended skin. His eyes widened as he felt the strength and frequency of the kicks. "Whoa, he's really moving. Doesn't that hurt?"

"Not really," she rhythmically stroked, trying to soothe the baby. "He's probably just reacting like this because you almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh, sorry," he at least had the decency to look sheepish. She knew it wouldn't take long for the kicking to settle down. Now that he was here, Temari felt the most relaxed she had in days.

"I went to see Kakashi today," she stated while he climbed into bed.

"And?" This was the sort of thing he'd usually be interested in talking about but he was already yawning. Temari could see how exhausted he was now.

"It went well."

"Good," he practically slurred the word. She envied his ability to fall asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Even if sleep wouldn't take her as fast, she curled up next to him and grabbed his arm to wrap it around her side. His light snoring comforted her and Temari found herself closing her own eyes.


	38. It's Always a Bad Hair Day

Temari was staying at the same inn she had been for years. Recently, she was coming here so often that it was starting to feel like a second home.

Her stays were becoming longer and more frequent. A small part of her felt bad for leaving her brothers, but they were old enough to take care of themselves now.

Speaking of care, there were a couple things at the moment she should probably be looking after but her attention was being extremely diverted. A pot on the stove was simmering away, no immediate danger there. A game of shogi lay abandoned on the floor. And she was supposed to call someone...what was their name again?

She was having a hard time remembering her own name, never mind the names of people she had just met.

The only thing she had any clear focus on was him, how he was presently draped over her on the couch, a position which would normally make her feel trapped but right now she wouldn't move even if the pot on the stove caught fire.

Her heart fluttered even though she wasn't nervous.

Everything else around her was slowly becoming irrelevant as he kissed her, not just a peck on the forehead or the cheek but really kissed her. Some part of her felt that this was sort of dangerous, was it common for people to lose track of time, where they were?

If he had lived in Suna, he would have seriously hampered her training. Though she was having a hard time paying attention to some things, Temari was very aware of his hands and how they had snaked from her shoulders, to her neck, and now his fingers rested on her scalp.

Contrary to most girls, she would have felt more comfortable if his hands were on her chest. One deft hand bumped against a hair tie and she almost pulled away. It was probably just an accident. Shikamaru wasn't known for being graceful.

But she felt it again and then she was certain his fingers tugged on the band, trying to release the untameable.

Her hair was the only part of her body she didn't have complete confidence in. The length and color was fine, however it was thick and always seemed to puff up like a lion's mane. The humidity in Konoha made it even worse.

"What are you doing?" she asked angrily although she knew perfectly well what his intentions were.

He looked down at her plainly but his mouth was downturned and it almost looked like he was pouting. If he thought he could break her like this he was delusional.

"My hair stays where it is," he voice was firm, leaving no room for argument, and she did her signature glare.

Recently, she felt that he was becoming immune to her menacing looks which was frustrating. She would just have to find new ways to make him do her bidding. He didn't answer her. He could tell that she wouldn't budge but Temari also realized he wasn't giving up. He was a quitter in many aspects of his life but work, family, friends and herself were exempt from that. So when he went back to his previous ministrations, she remained wary.

Now his hands stayed innocently on her shoulders.

She let out a sigh that was all aggravation and no pleasure. He had gone and made her anxious. She could no longer relax and enjoy all the things he had been making her feel earlier. Shikamaru also noticed that she had tensed considerably and massaged her shoulders with little success.

Their current situation, her unease and his trying to make things normal, vaguely reminded her of when they had started to get serious in this manner.

Of course, back then, their hearts had been beating erratically and none of their touches had been too sure. And right now he didn't appear to be feeling awkward at all, seeing as she could feel him smirk through their kiss.

What he had to smile about she didn't know. Killing the mood couldn't exactly be considered an accomplishment.

He brought his head back and she thought he was about to get up for a moment.

But he only moved further south to place his lips on her neck. It wasn't something he had never done before but it was uncommon. Temari figured he was trying his best to make her forget. And while this was marvellously distracting, she wasn't going down without a fight.

A pain in her neck made her heart beat fast.

She couldn't control the gasp that came out of her mouth as he intentionally bit her. It was a foreign feeling and she didn't quite know if she enjoyed it but she certainly knew that the feel of his teeth on her skin was sending shivers down her spine. Her mind was a rambled mess, only containing that one sensation. While she would have been content to have his lips continue there for several more minutes, she suddenly was overcome with the desire to reclaim them with her own, so she did so and none too gently.

Their languid kissing soon became desperate and fierce. She didn't have a reason for it; neither of them was going anywhere. Why did it feel like there was a sense of urgency now? Foreheads bumping, teeth knocking, hands pulling clothes, fingers running through hair...

Temari stopped suddenly, as if someone had flicked a switch inside of her.

Their lips disconnected with an audible popping sound. But he didn't remove his hands from her hair.

Quickly, her own hands rose up to cover his and shield her hair from his darkened gaze. Temari didn't know what was more embarrassing, her wild locks or that fact that Shikamaru had been able to distract her to such a level that she hadn't even noticed him pull the elastics out or felt her hair touch her shoulders.

"Why would you do this? Don't look at it! Stop staring."

She wanted to tie her hair back up but he had probably thrown her elastics across the room and to retrieve them meant displaying her hair at its worst. It wasn't difficult for him to pull her hands away.

"There's nothing wrong with it. What's the big deal?" He must be saying that just to make her feel better.

"It's awful."

"I like it." She could almost believe him by the way he was smiling so sappily.

Temari found it hard to believe that much good could be said about her hair except maybe for the fact that, when it was down, she tended to look a little younger. Otherwise, there was no appeal to it.

But apparently it did something for him as he couldn't seem to tear his hands away.

She would have to spend a lot of time brushing it out after this as his fingers were surely creating knots.

Although she had very little confidence in her appearance, at the moment the look in his eyes made her feel pretty, beautiful even. Slowly she began to relinquish control and just allowed herself to be content in his arms, feeling safe.

Instead of feeling like she had made a mistake. Temari felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. This was one more thing that she thought would affect how he viewed her. She was proud of being loud and in charge but it would be a lie to say that she never wondered if she was sometimes too rough and abrasive with him.

Now she felt her own curiosity pique. Gently, she moved her hands up to take down his hair. Unlike her, he made no protest, only looked at her obligingly. In their position, his hair hung down and tickled her face. It was almost as long, if not longer than hers and it was definitely more obedient.

It was straight and full and she had to admit that it made her a little jealous.

"What?" he asked in response to her quiet laughter. Temari took a strand of his hair in her fingers and twirled it around.

"Nothing, it's very pretty," she murmured appreciatively, not even aware of how unlike her she sounded.

"Tch, you shouldn't call a man's hair pretty."

Shikamaru also looked surprised by what she had said and a light dusting of pink was on the tips of his ears. Perhaps she didn't always have to be the hardened Temari that everyone seemed to think they knew. And these thoughts, it's not that they weren't 'her' per-say, she just had never experienced something like this before. Having someone, who wasn't family, keep coming back to her even after seeing all her vices. It was sort of foreign to have another person capable of caring for her emotionally.

Temari didn't think that there would be anyone else out there who would do those things for her.

And she never wanted to find out.

Right here and now she felt completely comfortable. Apparently, she wasn't the only one.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"No."

He didn't even try to stop his eyes from closing or his body from crushing hers as he dropped his full weight onto the couch. Truthfully, she was so content that she could fall asleep herself. Why wouldn't she? This was where she wanted to be, secure and warm.

Neither of them was aware of the pot boiling over on the stove.


	39. Chivalry Isn't Dead

She hadn't been expecting a knock on her door. Granted it was still early in the evening, but a very select few knew she was here and where to find her. Temari was back in Konoha to discuss the curriculum for new genin with the Sixth.

Suna and Konoha now shared a system and the two villages met up every now and again to document progress. These days Temari almost always seemed to have a project on the go. If it wasn't Union work it was ambassadorial duties and if it wasn't either of those Gaara could always find something that needed to be done.

Needless to say, she rarely had an evening off, which was why she had been looking forward to this visit so much. Not only did she enjoy bossing Shikamaru around while she was in town, but she never had to worry about people bothering her, until now.

When she opened the door Temari was very surprised to see Ino Yamanaka.

"Can I help you?" she asked rudely.

It wasn't that she was trying to be mean; she just wanted to enjoy her evening in peace. Also, Temari didn't appreciate the way Ino was eyeing her choice of clothing with undisclosed disgust. What was wrong with it? Since she had planned on it just being her and a good book, Temari had opted to switch her normal outfit for a baggy shirt she had nabbed off of Kankuro and a pair of pants she now realized were littered with holes.

"Obviously you're in more need of my help than I thought," Ino pushed past her and walked into the apartment without even asking.

She dropped her bag onto the floor and rested her hands on her hips. "Temari," she chastised, "what are you doing in here on a Friday night by yourself?"

Not reading my book, she thought bitterly.

"You're in your prime! And you're already three years older than the rest of us so it is not going to last forever."

Was Ino accusing her of being old?

"Come on, you're going out with me and the girls tonight."

"What? Thanks but no thanks."

"Please," she batted her eyelashes.

Without waiting for an answer Ino dragged Temari into the small apartment's bathroom. Once there, she dumped the contents of a small glittery pink bag onto the counter. Temari didn't even know what half of it was but soon Ino was picking up a brush and some powdery stuff and moving towards her face.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" It felt strange on her skin.

"You'll thank me later," Ino sang and picked up a container with colourful powder.

"That is not going on me. It's purple!"

"Yes, yes it is Temari. You're very observant. It goes on your eyes and, since it's purple, it'll make them pop." Temari was tired and she knew Ino wasn't leaving without a fight so she decided to stick it out. After an inordinate amount of goo, Temari inspected her face in the mirror. It wasn't like she couldn't recognize herself anymore but whatever magic Ino had created definitely brought attention to her better features.

Ino laughed as Temari looked in awe at her own reflection. "Oh Temari, it's like you've never worn makeup before."

"I haven't."

The other girl gasped in mock horror. Despite appreciating what Ino had done with her face she was apprehensive about the flat machine she had hooked into the wall.

"It's for your hair," Ino explained.

Temari didn't even have time to protest before Ino pulled her hair from its two bunches and pressed it through the device. Oh my god, why had she never done this before? Why had no one told her things like this existed? For once in her life, her hair actually lay flat.

Temari had spent so many years battling her unruly locks and this had been the solution the whole time? Now with her face made up and her hair pin straight Temari had to admit she looked quite different. If she had seen herself on the street she would have thought it was a distant relative of hers.

"Your transformation is almost complete. Put this on." Temari held up a black shirt. It was nice enough.

"Where are the pants?"

"What do you mean? It's a dress."

Temari's jaw dropped. There was no way. How could anyone wear something like this and keep their dignity?

"Put it on," she ordered before giving her some privacy. And Temari was right. The dress just reached mid thigh and the front plunged in a deep V. Yes, a part of her felt like putting her baggy clothes back on but the other part, the part winning out, had to admit she looked good.

Temari was a confident woman most of the time but now in this getup she felt oddly powerful. And maybe a girl's night was exactly what she needed. When she stepped out of the bathroom Ino smiled in approval.

"I'm always right," she crowed. "Come on, we're going hunting."

Temari didn't even ask what she meant by that and followed her out the door.

The bar was loud and crowded. She had never really seen anything quite like it. People were 'dancing', which was a politically correct way of saying inappropriately grinding against each other like animals. Temari was just thankful that there were people she knew here and that they were acting responsibly.

Ino called out to Sakura, Hinata and Tenten who were all sitting in a booth with drinks already started. All of them were dressed somewhat similar to her and Temari was actually grateful that Ino had taken the time to help her out. She would have been horribly underdressed.

"Temari is that you?" Tenten asked. The other two girls looked equally as surprised. "Ugh, none of us are going to get asked to dance with you looking like that! Just kidding, you're lookin' good," she winked. Temari was a bit embarrassed, not used to hanging out with other girls or taking the time to look after her appearance. This was strangely nice.

"How are you doing Temari-san?" The dark haired girl, Hinata she thinks, the one with the huge crush on that blonde idiot, asks shyly. She's probably the most modestly dressed out of all of them.

"Okay, I guess." Temari couldn't elaborate on the question before some sleazy looking guy approach their booth. His eyes locked onto Ino and Temari felt sorry for her.

"Hey Babe, wanna dance?" This guy should just get lost there was no way was she...

"Sure," Ino agreed.

Why? Ino could do so much better than this. None of the other girls seemed to be thinking the same thing. Mostly, they just appeared upset that the offer hadn't been extended to them. But Sakura didn't stay that way for long because, suddenly, she sat straight up and shouted.

"Guys, come over here!" Temari twisted around and instantly wished she hadn't. If she hadn't she may have been able to escape without them noticing. But as it was now, Temari was staring into the faces of Naruto, Sai, Rock Lee, Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru.

What the hell was he doing here? He was supposed to be off watching clouds or playing shogi not in some stuffy noisy bar. There was no escaping now. His eyes had locked with hers instantly and Temari could feel her face burn.

All that power she had felt before was stripped away in an instant and she started to panic. It was so strange, around everyone else she felt fine but now, under his gaze, she felt naked. The dress really was too short and her chest felt too exposed.

"What is going on?" Temari hissed at Sakura. The girl didn't seem fazed.

"Ino invited them."

Why was Temari even shocked at this point? That girl was a known schemer.

"I'm surprised that they all showed up," Sakura continued. Yeah, it must be my lucky day, she thought sulkily.

"Sakura," Naruto shouted and eagerly ran up to their group.

Temari noticed how red Hinata had become and felt bad for the poor girl. For being so intuitive when it came to other people's problems, Naruto was a complete idiot when it came to love. He continued to chat with everyone at the table before his eyes caught hers.

"Hey, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. Temari didn't know whether to be amused that her disguise had fooled someone she had known for seven years or insulted. All the girls were quiet for a few moments before they burst into laughter. Naruto just looked very confused as everyone around him continued to laugh at his expense.

"How have you been Naruto?"

"How do you know my name? We've never met before."

Wrong. And who wouldn't know his name anyways? He was a hero.

"Temari," the new voice sent shivers down her spine and she was still trying to figure out whether they were the good or bad kind. She pulled her attention away from Naruto's antics to look at him. He was also out of his normal attire, a look she'd never seen before.

"What?" Naruto screeched in a high pitched voice. "Oh man, Gaara is going to kill me."

"Who's going to kill who?"

Ino had come back with that guy. Temari did her best to glare at the girl but Ino was too distracted. She had dropped her dance partner and was now trying her best to chat up Sai. Temari didn't know how much luck she'd have. Even for a social butterfly like Ino, Sai seemed out of reach.

Temari cleared her throat and brought a hand up to cover her chest as she noticed Sleaze – it was a fitting name for him – checking her out. Before she could tell the creep to get lost Shikamaru had slid into the booth next to her, effectively cutting off the other's line of vision.

"I had it under control," she grumbled lowly.

Shikamaru didn't even bother turning her way as he only grunted in response. The stupid guy was still standing there, leaning to see past Shikamaru's shoulder to get a better look. Shikamaru and Sleaze seemed to be having their own sort of showdown. That was ridiculous, Temari berated herself. They were just friends. He was doing this in the service of a friend.

"Can I help you with something?"

Finally Sleaze decided she wasn't worth the hassle and slinked away, no doubt to find some other poor willing girl. Temari tried to ignore the smug looks she was receiving from everyone else at the table. Friends were allowed to stop weird men and women from coming on to each other, weren't they?

"I don't need a man to defend me, you know?"

Instead of taking the bait and arguing with her, he remained silent. Unlike that other guy, his eyes were fixated on her face and not her assets. Embarrassed, Temari turned to find someone else to engage in conversation. But everyone was either talking to someone else or had left the booth for the dance floor. She really didn't have any friends in Konoha did she?

"You look...different."

It wasn't even close to what she had been looking for. Here she was, wearing a skin tight black dress, hair done and everything, and 'different' was his word of choice. What kind of a man was he? A gentleman, something in the back of her mind whispered.

"It's been known to happen."

After that, not much was said. The atmosphere was quickly becoming awkward, which was not something that usually happened between the two of them. None of the other guys were acting odd towards the girls. Why couldn't they just be normal friends like everyone else?

"Move," she ordered as he was blocking her way.

She was upset that Shikamaru hadn't complimented her and angry at herself for thinking that way in the first place. Just because he didn't really talk to other girls didn't mean that he was interested in her. At this rate, she was just going to ruin their friendship. How could she have let herself get talked into this?

* * *

He was awoken from his afternoon nap by a loud constant banging at his door. What a drag. It seemed like there were never enough hours in the day for himself anymore. Work was the driving force of his life. Was it too much to ask for one evening just for himself? His exhaustion wasn't just work related. Shikamaru had been by Temari's side constantly, ever since she got here. But that was because he enjoyed being with her...because they were friends. Ugh, it was too troublesome to think about this so soon after waking up. Whoever was at the door didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. The banging was doing nothing for his forming headache.

Shikamaru was surprised to see Chouji when he opened the door. This was the type of behaviour he would expect from Ino. Something must be wrong. The thought sobered him instantly.

"Chouji what is it?"

"Ino sent me over to get you," Chouji fidgeted nervously.

That didn't really answer his question. His friend was dressed casually so this wasn't mission related. And although he did appear distressed he didn't look like he was in any immediate danger.

"Chouji I'm tired. Tell Ino this can wait." Shikamaru didn't even want to know what his blond teammate was holding over Chouji's head to make him do her bidding. Not looking for company, Shikamaru moved to close the door but his friend's hand got in the way.

"Okay, Ino didn't really send me over but it seemed weird to me that you wouldn't be invited."

Damn him.

Being friends which Chouji for many years, he knew how to pique his interest.

"Just tell me what's going on. The sooner you do the sooner I can go back to sleep," he yawned to prove his point. Chouji still looked too nervous for him to fully relax.

"Well, earlier today Ino said that her and the girls were going out tonight and had invited all the members from their team. But when Ino asked me to come, she asked me not to tell you. At first, I thought it was because she wanted to invite you herself. Still, it seemed strange to me so I came over here to double check before I went up to meet them. To add to everything, she even invited Temari to come which –

What? He wasn't mad at not being invited, really. Shikamaru would much rather be at home where it was quiet. But how could Ino invite Temari and not him – not that they were a package deal or anything.

"Where are they going?"

Chouji gave him a knowing look which he chose to ignore. Quickly, he raced around his apartment to find suitable clothes and all but dragged Chouji outside with him.

"Um...well I think it was some sort of bar."

Temari didn't even like those kinds of places! He had seen her off today so he knew she had originally planned to stay in tonight. But Temari wasn't used to having a large group of friends and she would naturally be curious as to what this kind of outing would entail. Shikamaru already knew what would happen and he didn't like it one bit.

She could never be considered an easy target, but that wouldn't stop a drunken man, or any man with eyes for that matter, from ogling or talking to her. Worst of all was he couldn't even blame them. Shikamaru would be lying if he said he had never let his own eyes wander up her legs.

"Shikamaru, wait up. You're walking too fast!" Chouji shouted from behind him.

He tried to slow down but his feet wouldn't listen. He was trying to reason with himself. Surely he would be just as anxious if Ino went out by herself right? But that had happened before and, although he didn't appreciate guys chatting her up, he never actually did anything about it.

When he spotted Naruto, Lee, Kiba and Sai, Shikamaru knew he had found the right place. He all but shoved his way inside before everyone else. He spotted Ino in the corner with some guy but that wasn't his main concern. Anxiously, he scanned the bar until his eyes for their objective. Shikamaru felt Naruto brush past him as he was frozen in place.

It felt like someone had nailed his feet to the floor. Was that really Temari? He knew right away that what she was wearing had not been her own choice. Although he was enjoying the skin tight dress he knew he wasn't the only one. It didn't take a genius to realize she was attracting attention. Really, what he wanted was to put his coat around her shoulders and drag her out with him. But that would be crossing the boundary of simple friendship. This was much more trouble than it was worth. His mind was only half there as he moved towards the table. Her eyes had locked onto his by now and his stomach flipped.

"Temari," his voice didn't even sound like his own.

There was no one else but her. And that line is usually used to convey a feeling of love or mushiness but this was nothing like that, it was alienating. Shikamaru definitely wasn't in his right mind. His eyes searched her face until his view was obstructed by some stranger. The man seemed to be having the same problem as him but his eyes were looking farther south which made Shikamaru's insides burn. He didn't have any sort of claim on Temari but he knew for a fact that she wasn't appreciating this scumbag's advances. Deftly, he squeezed into the booth next to her. She could yell at him all she wanted afterwards.

"Can I help you with something?"

He hoped that his words conveyed as much venom as he was feeling. The man stood there stupidly for another couple seconds before leaving, giving Shikamaru a sense of pride.

"I don't need a man to defend me, you know?" Tch, troublesome, everyone needs someone to help them out at some point. But he knew what she meant. Maybe he wouldn't have reacted so strongly if she wasn't wearing...that.

"You look...different," smooth Nara.

"It has been known to happen," came her biting reply.

Great, now she was angry at him. He had just been trying to help her (and himself). It's not like she could have wanted to go anywhere with that guy, right? Sure, maybe he was tall and most likely what Ino would call 'a major catch'. But if he couldn't maintain a conversation with a woman without looking down her top, he couldn't be all that.

"Move," she demanded, shoving his shoulder a little.

Did she actually want to go with that chauvinist? It wasn't like he could stop her. It wasn't his place, he reminded himself grudgingly. That didn't mean he couldn't find some way around this though. Slowly, he let her out of the booth.

"Temari," she looked at him expectantly, hands on her hips. She really wasn't conscious of how she looked in that dress. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Excuse me?" She tried to look mad but she wasn't serious. He knew her too well and he was sure that she wasn't actually having fun.

"Don't kid yourself."

Even if her brows were furrowed, he could see the fight dying from her eyes. A younger Shikamaru would have stood there and waited for an answer he may never receive, but the new him was a little more daring. He reached for her hand, pleased that she didn't fight him, and pulled them out onto the street.

"Well," she questioned once they got outside. He didn't really know what she meant. "You're the one that pulled me out here," she explained. "What are we doing?" Shikamaru was only half listening as he noticed the darkened sky, cool breeze and how she absentmindedly moved to cross her arms. She couldn't be comfortable.

"Don't you want to get out of that dress?"

Her face turned tomato red. Quickly he realized his error and he rushed to make it right. Someone please jab a kunai through his chest.

"Wait! That's not what I meant. It's cold outside so I thought... Never mind. What a drag." He took off his jacket and hung it over her shoulders. It really looked like she was going to fight him on it for a couple seconds. But she resentfully accepted and stomped down the street to where she was staying. They could go back to where she's staying and play shogi or something. Everything will be fine again when she's not wearing that awful excuse for a dress.

It threatened the already precarious boundaries of their friendship. Hell, even seeing his jacket on her was disturbing his thoughts.

Temari just needed to go back to normal and then everything else would as well.

* * *

Temari watched the water in the sink with fascination as it turned a brownish colour. This had all coated her face moments ago. Now, as she looked in the mirror, her face was pink from being scrubbed so harshly. Perhaps this wasn't as attractive but at least she felt familiar. Her old casual clothes still lay on the floor of the washroom and she eagerly stepped out of the confining black number.

"Are you hungry?" she called out to where Shikamaru was waiting in the sitting area.

He was setting up the shogi board he had dropped by earlier. Apparently, it was too troublesome to bring it back and forth between his home and the inn.

"Sure," he drawled.

Of course he didn't even move to help her. Again, standing here in the washroom, she was faced with another dilemma. No way was the walking back out in that dress but, at the same time, she wasn't entirely comfortable going out there in a baggy shirt and torn pants.

Sighing, she supposed the loose fitting clothes were definitely the lesser of two evils. It would have been impossible to sneak past him to get back into her normal attire anyways.

With a put on air of confidence she stepped out into the main sitting room. His eyes flashed up to hers the moment she walked in. There were a tense few seconds before one corner of his mouth twitched up and he burst into uninhibited laughter.

"What?" she angrily demanded. However, she would gladly take his laughter over awkward staring. Shikamaru was laughing so hard he was curled over with one hand clutching his side.

"What is it?"

"I've never seen you look so unprofessional before."

It looked like that sentence took him a lot of effort to get out. Temari was caught between hitting him and laughing at his obvious struggle. She decided the half heartedly throw the nearest things she could reach towards his head, which happened to be a couch cushion.

"You can cook for yourself."

"Don't be mad about it," she couldn't help but pout slightly as he wiped stray tears from his eyes, "it wasn't an insult. I like it."

She really felt that, in trying to pull himself together, he had let those last few words slip. He didn't seem to realize what he had said so she chose to ignore it as well, along with the beating of her heart.

All she had wanted was a relaxed evening but at least she had good company.


	40. Demands and Wishes

It wasn't difficult to see why so many tourists choose to visit or stay in Konoha. The temperate climate, cultural attractions, and countless novelty shops were sure to draw in plenty of travellers. Temari looked out the window into the Nara forest.

She had been a tourist herself, in some sense, she supposed. As much as she loved this village hidden in the towering trees, sometimes she wished people would take the time to journey to Suna.

The trip through the desert was neither safe nor was it enjoyable, but her homeland had just as much history to offer. The old legends, carved into stone walls throughout the village, were enough to keep anyone busy for days.

The unfortunate truth was that Suna's population was made up almost entirely of its own citizens, people who had been born and would surely die there. They were the only ones acclimatized to such an environment.

Perhaps there were no flower filled meadows or lakes but Suna was beautiful in its own right.

She could remember, back in her childhood, walking through the large stone entrance, how the sun made the rocks bleed red. That giant ball of fire could set the sky ablaze like nothing else. On hot summer nights she liked to sit atop the Kazekage's tower and watch it sink below the horizon, see the sweltering heat waves flicker before fading away only to be replaced by the stars.

Even the sand, which she could attest to not missing as much, held a strange sort of fascination. It stretched on for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. Standing out amidst the granular ocean had the tendency to remind one of their insignificance.

And when swept up by the wind, the sand became a dangerous phenomenon. She was always baffled by how something so small could be so destructive. For a few hours, a giant cloud of sand would take control of the desert. At one time, she took rescue teams out during the storm, so she held a great respect for the sand. Something told Temari travellers would not be as fascinated by it as she.

However, everyone could enjoy a rare happening in the desert, the blooming of the cacti.

Some years it happened without rhyme or reason. In her opinion, they were the most beautiful flower. She enjoyed the electric blues, yellows, pinks and oranges. Those days when the cacti flowered and the sky was clear were few and far between, but it was something no one would ever forget.

People probably equated Suna with the harsh sun, gritty sand and blazing heat. To be fair, although it was all of those things there was still more to it than that.

No matter how intense the environment or how abrupt its people, she did miss it.

Temari let a sigh escape from her lips as she stared longingly out the window.

"You're thinking about it aren't you?"

She had been so lost in her thoughts that she'd forgotten he was in the room with her. The tone of his voice was neither accusing nor sympathetic; it was factual. Because he loves his own home and he's absurdly good at reading other people. Of course, he understands why she can become melancholy thinking of Suna.

"Hmm," she murmured.

Both of them were so busy with work that a trip to Suna hadn't even been spoken of. It had been a while since they had last visited so it was only natural that she'd be feeling slightly homesick. She had actually seen her brothers quite recently, so she knew it was the village itself she longed to see.

Shikamaru had suggested once that she speak with Karui about this sort of thing. She was another woman who had gotten married to Shikamaru's closest friend, leaving her village in the process. But her feelings on the matter were too complicated, too personal.

Even though she had everything she wanted, was the happiest she had ever been something felt like it was missing. How could she say that to anyone?

The very thought made her feel like she was acting selfishly.

Temari couldn't and wouldn't make Shikamaru guilty for a decision she had voluntarily made. And she wouldn't change it for the world. Being away from Suna was difficult but the alternative was much worse.

She turned away from the window and focused her attention on the present. Even when she yearned for the desert there were still little parts of their home that were reminiscent of it. Gaara had given them several of his cacti when they got married. To anyone else, it would seem like a bizarre gift but she knew how vigilant he was in his care for them and that he treasured each of his plants. Pictures of Gaara, Kankuro and herself were in frames, so she always had a bit of her brothers here. And if anyone were to look closely enough, they would notice an assortment of Suna artifacts in their home, bowls, rugs and paintings.

Of course there were also things from his family as well; it was the Nara's head house after all. Antlers, medicinal books, the clan symbol standing bold and proud on the gates leading up to their home. Then, there were things that were purely Shikamaru, like the shogi set. Her favourite place in Konoha was their home because it was the perfect combination of them.

"I was just remembering some things. I'm okay."

She reassured him because, even if his stare was blank, she knew he was wondering.

He nodded. "We could probably go back soon."

She smiled at his suggestion. It was a testament to his character that, despite it being the middle of summer, he was willing to suffer through the heat. Surely, he'd complain about it the whole time but it was a sweet thought.

"I don't really feel like walking through the desert in August. I don't miss Suna that much," she chuckled.

Living in Konoha had made her slightly more sensitive to the heat, perhaps it was the humidity. The people who lived here, like her husband, tended to wither the moment they left their comfortable tree cover. She hoped their children would have a bit more resistance to the sun, maybe even enjoy travelling through the desert as she did.

At this time, it wasn't even a question that any child they had would be granted dual citizenship. The elders in Suna were so desperate to preserve the bloodline that they would do almost anything to ensure there would be another Kazekage within the family.

Sighing again, Temari rubbed her temples. Her brothers were perfectly content with their lives now but part of her wished that one of them would settle down so that her children would be spared such a responsibility. Sadly, it didn't look like they were up to the challenge.

"What is it now?" Shikamaru questioned, referring to her second sigh.

She blushed at being caught imagining a family they didn't even have. Her flushed cheeks only made him more curious. Temari had no doubt that he'd find her train of thought more than amusing and tease her about it for days.

"Uh, I was thinking about the Suna council." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Thinking about a bunch of old men made you blush?"

"Don't go assuming things, idiot!"

Her insults did nothing to deter the mischievous smirk that now graced his face. He knew that her threats held little weight unless she was completely serious.

"I thought you went for younger men."

Temari felt her mouth fall open. She stood there stupidly for a couple of moments before jumping onto the couch where he was lying. Quickly, Shikamaru raised his arms to protect his face as she began to swat his chest, all the while he laughed through the abuse.

"You're such a pain," she admonished between hits.

Certainly both of them had heard their fair share of jokes about the three years between them. The gap didn't bother them one bit. But other people's teasing never failed to get a rise out of her.

"Now you're just ignoring my question. You never answered me."

"It's not important."

"But I want to know," she scoffed at the slight whine in his voice; he was sounding like a child.

How had she gotten herself into this sort of situation? One minute she's thinking of Suna the next her husband is trying to pull embarrassing subjects out of her. Maybe the more important question was why she had been thinking of those things to begin with.

Truthfully, she was curious about what Hinata and now Ino were experiencing. And Temari was also fully aware of the Ino-Shika-Cho traditions.

Regardless of whether or not she was ready, people from all three clans were now expecting subsequent announcements from the Nara and Akimichi clans. She looked down at Shikamaru, who was still holding his hands over his face, he must have been thinking about it too.

Though he hadn't said anything, he would never bring it up until he was certain she would receive the question well. Temari didn't know what made her say it, the mental image of a child walking to Suna with them, Ino and Hinata, clan traditions or that deep hidden desire which she had always been too nervous to act on, but the words came tumbling gracelessly from her mouth.

"I want a baby."

His arms came down with an audible thump, hanging loosely by his sides. If he'd been drinking something, she's sure he would have choked.

She probably should have worded it better, more gently, less like a demand.

But this way, at least, she would hear his honest opinion. By now Shikamaru should be used to her blunt nature. And it wasn't as if they had never talked about it before. In fact, they had had this discussion at length. At the time, she had assumed that the day they actually became serious about wanting children would be far off in the future, not a mere year after they were married.

His silence was beginning to make her self-conscious. Was it so outlandish for her to say such things? She wasn't the embodiment of maternity but that didn't mean that she was opposed to having children.

"Well," she questioned impatiently, now regretting ever making such a declaration.

"Why?" Ugh, she hadn't been expecting him to just agree with her but it would've been nice.

"Why not?"

"There are plenty of good reasons why not but why do you want a kid? And the Ino-Shika-Cho tradition is not a good enough answer."

How could she even begin to unwind such a complicated question, one she didn't fully understand herself? Traditions were important to her so she couldn't lie and say that it hadn't influenced her decision. But it was more than that. She liked the way his face changed when he held Mirai. She wondered how, or if, it would change when he held their child.

Yet, as much as those things mattered, something else had made her convinced that now was the right time.

"Family, I guess I just wanted a family, a real one. Not the kind my siblings and I hastily patched up when we were older. Or even, as much as I love your mother, what the three of us have right now. Sometimes I feel like I'm caught between here and Suna, like I don't fully belong to either place anymore. But I'm positive that I belong here," she motioned towards him and their home, "and I just thought that if we really did have a family it would only solidify that, give me some more roots in Konoha." His expression was invariable throughout her tangent. "I guess all that sounds pretty selfish, huh?"

"You're allowed to be selfish every once and a while," he finally said. "Sorry for being troublesome." Temari smirked at his use of his favourite word in reference to himself. "I just wanted to be sure that it was something you wanted and not what you felt other people were pressuring you into. I mean, tradition is important and all but even if you had wanted to wait five years I would've been fine with it."

"Your mother would have a heart attack if she heard you say that."

"That woman," he grumbled, "has been nagging me my whole life. It's a real drag but I'm used to it. Getting hit by your fan would have been much worse."

"Wait! If you were thinking about this all of that time then why did you take so long to say something after I suggested it?"

He had just left her hanging there.

She had been seconds away from laughing it off with a simple 'just kidding' and pretending the conversation never happened.

"Don't look at me like that. I thought we were still talking about you missing Suna. Then, all of a sudden you're saying you want a baby. Even after all of this time, I have no idea of how the female brain works."

"I thought that maybe you'd changed your mind," she let slip dejectedly.

"Now who's the one assuming things?"

In embarrassment, Temari bit the corner of her lip. She disliked being played the fool. Her own musing made her completely unaware of Shikamaru, now leaning forwards.

When his lips brushed hers, she pulled back startled.

"W-what are you doing?" Despite being the master of strategy, whenever he was like this, Shikamaru had such obvious tells. Temari, being distracted as she was, hadn't had a chance to look into his eyes; hence her surprise.

"I'm just obeying your demands," he grinned.


	41. The Trouble with Love

He didn't understand how he could have let this happen; he had fallen straight into the trap. The one thing he had belligerently attested to never do in his youth was happening right now.

But it wasn't his fault.

The things he was feeling were beyond his control, involuntary. Shikamaru could barely make sense of how, through all of this emotional and psychological instability, he had all of this increased energy when she was around.

And he was never energetic.

Being bounced between sleeplessness, euphoria, loss of appetite, exhilaration and anxiety was making his already overactive mind spin. It was like an addiction and she was the drug. He couldn't go a day without her intruding his thoughts in some way. The smallest things, a particular book in the hands of a stranger that she had once read, would bring him back to a memory in time and his brain would digress rapidly from there.

He had labelled her and their relationship as many things over the years: an annoyance, an allegiance, a friendship, a distraction...an obsession.

Nowadays, he found himself reordering his daily priorities, changing his mannerisms and habits in order to better align them with hers. Worst of all, those things didn't even bother him. Not taking his daily nap was nothing if it meant spending more time with her. If she smiled because he called her something other than troublesome, it was worth it.

Their values were similar; he didn't feel like he was altering his personality to be with her. But even if that were the case, he was starting to realize that there was no sacrifice too big he wasn't willing to make for her and that was frightening. Everything she did was endearing now.

Oh, she could still annoy him like no other and, though it was rare, they did fight and always over foolish things; the most desperate of arguments always were. Despite how they were with other people, they were always quick to forgive one another.

Shikamaru was conscious that he tended to overlook her negative traits. But who wouldn't when faced with someone like her? Another good question, what other man wouldn't notice her?

Thankfully, she spurned all other men but that didn't stop him from feeling possessive. However, these feeling never got in the way. He may feel jealous from time to time but he was never suspicious. The fact that they were exclusive, that she was solely his and he was only hers made him embarrassingly proud. It was the same for him though.

He was unable to feel desire for anyone else.

She always pushes him to be better. It hurts when she's not here with him. Every time she had to leave to go back to Suna hurts a little more every time. So, now he had to deal with the most troublesome part of this all.

He, Shikamaru Nara, was in love with Temari and he was going to have to tell her. He's sure she already knows. And he's quite confident that she feels the same but he's still compelled to say it. Because this is what people in relationships do, right? Nonetheless, it's difficult for him to broach the subject, especially when she's looking at him with those unsuspecting teal eyes.

"You look so serious today," she laughs, pushing her index finger between his brows to erase the crease that has formed there. He frowns at her teasing which only serves to amuse her more. They were lying on a grassy hill to watch the clouds. Shikamaru understands that she would rather be walking around, doing something else, yet she's choosing to sit here with him.

Once again, he finds himself staring just a little too long. But unlike when they were just getting used to not living in denial, she unabashedly stares right back. And he can't help himself; he kisses her, trying to convey an ounce of what he's feeling. Temari responds instantly, obviously finding their new activity much more interesting than cloud watching.

How did he ever get so lucky? Girls like Temari shouldn't go for lazy guys like him. Someone like Temari ended up with a guy who was serious about his work, the top of his field, a take charge type. In some round-about way maybe he meets some of those criteria. But what did it matter, she was here now?

"What are you thinking about?" She pulled away.

This was the only time he wished that their thoughts weren't so completely synchronized. Temari always knew when he was anxious about something. He turned his gaze to the clouds. If he looked into her eyes, he knew that he would lose his train of thought. For a few more minutes they just lay there in comfortable silence. Temari notoriously nagged him but, when it really mattered, she knew when to let him be.

"I love you."

He turned his head to the side to take in her reaction. She too was staring at the sky, although her eyes were wider than usual. And her chest was no longer rising and falling. Just when he was starting to question how long she could go without air, Temari exhaled in one long sigh and closed her eyes. He didn't really understand her reaction. Was she happy, agitated or unaffected? Only bothering to reopen one eye, she sized him up.

"Took you long enough," her lips pulled up to one side, exposing her amusement.

He had to smile back. Idly, he wondered exactly how long she had been waiting. Shikamaru thought it not in her nature to wait for anything. In fact, he had thought she would be the first to utter those three words. Perhaps she felt it was the man's duty to say such things first; he doubted it.

"You're not going to say anything back?"

Even though he knew what her reply would be before she voiced it, he couldn't help but feel some nerves. It was somewhat like the time he had asked her out or the first time he plucked up the courage and kissed her. And, by the mirth sparkling in her eyes, he could tell it amused her greatly. However, Temari was blissfully more empathetic than she was in her younger years, at least with him.

"I love you."

Those words stripped away all of his insecurities. He knew that those three words spoken by anyone else wouldn't be able to reproduce a tenth of the effect they had coming from her.

"I thought you'd feel emasculated if I said it first."

"Oh, so you did it for my sake?"

"You can thank me for it later...or now."

Shikamaru would play along for her benefit. He prided himself on knowing Temari better than anyone. And she was even more reluctant about revealing her inner most feeling than he was. She was such a challenge. He found himself consistently trying to find new tactics to crack that hard exterior of hers. Even if she weren't as guarded he would still be intrigued. Shikamaru honestly didn't think their story would have turned out any differently had they not had such a rough start. They would still be lying here on this hill confessing their feelings.


	42. Growing Up

Temari was becoming more and more amused with the shuffling of small feet outside her bedroom door as time passed. She looked up from her book every couple of minutes to see a small shadow and the tips of spiky black hair.

There was no doubt that this child was hers; he was very stubborn. Shikadai was eight years old now and very determined to act older than his years.

Even though he was sniffling and coughing, her child chose to stand out in the hallway not quite ready to succumb to tendencies he thought were babyish, like sleeping with his parents.

As a mother she fondly thought back on all of the stages in her son's life. When Shikadai caught a cold for the very first time he had cried through the entire night, leaving both her and Shikamaru exhausted the next morning.

Temari could still aptly feel the relief she had felt the day he had recovered. At two years old, when Shikadai caught the flu, he had clung to her leg the whole time.

At four he all but demanded to be coddled and picked up, even though he was getting bigger. Now he was too old for those kinds of things, in his own mind, and Temari felt a bit melancholic over the whole thing.

"Shikadai," she broke the silence, calling out for him.

Temari couldn't stop the smirk that tugged at her lips as his little head poked through the door. His green eyes instantly flitted to the spot beside her which was empty.

Despite Temari being the more disciplinary parent, Shikadai tended to worry more about appearing weak in the eyes of his father. Ironic, since Shikamaru was someone who easily accepted cowardice.

However, her husband also hated to appear incompetent to the people he respected, like his late father and sensei. She couldn't help but scoff, like father like son she guessed.

Shuffling across the floor, blanket in hand, he came to stand next to her. His cheeks were flushed and his nose was red from all of the tissue he had gone through.

Temari resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Shikadai waited to be invited into bed. Placing her book down on the bedside table she reached out for his small hand.

"Come on tough guy."

Her son gave her a grimace that was so reminiscent of Shikamaru's that she chuckled out loud. Without any complaints, Shikadai crawled up and over her, settling next to her left side.

Even though he was flushed, his skin was cold to the touch, prompting Temari to bundle him up with blankets.

"Mum," he complained in a raspy voice before letting out a rattling cough.

Ignoring her son's attempts to remain impassive she reached down and untied his hair. Shikadai's eyes were bleary and she could see how tired he was.

"Go to sleep Shikadai."

There was nothing, except perhaps playing video-games, her son enjoyed more than sleeping. And even though he was very intent to stay strong and stay awake the minute she began to rub his back Shikadai's eyes closed and he began to snore.

This was her secret weapon. As a baby when he began to fuss all Temari had to do was stroke his back and he would settle down.

She slipped out of bed as silently as she could to find a heating pad and some medicine, motherly instincts taking over. As any parent would, she hated seeing her child in any sort of discomfort. Temari wondered if she should take him to see Sakura tomorrow.

Temari heard the front door open on her way back to Shikadai. She winced as it closed with a bang and instantly turned to glare at the culprit. Shikamaru passed off what she supposed was an apologetic look. Her ears strained to hear any sign that Shikadai had woken up but found none.

"Try to be quieter," she whispered, "he just fell asleep."

She didn't bother waiting for his halfhearted apology. Instead, she went to give Shikadai his medicine.

Temari really didn't want to wake him up but it would only be for a couple of seconds and she knew that if he took the cough syrup now he would improve in the morning. As expected, there was a whole lot of mumbling, grumbling and complaining from her son.

That all stopped when his father walked in and Temari was able to successfully sneak the spoon of medicine into his mouth. She watched as Shikadai's eyes became downcast and he shuffled over more to her side to give his dad more room.

She had no problem with having Shikadai curled up to her side but caught Shikamaru giving her a questioning look. It didn't surprise her that he misconstrued their son's actions for resentment. For someone so smart Temari still hadn't figured out how he could be so emotionally slow.

As suspected, Shikadai soon fell asleep clutching her arm. Seeing her son, her own flesh and blood, looking so relaxed gave her a warm feeling inside. Temari knew that there wouldn't be many more moments like this as Shikadai grew older so she relished in them now.

"Did I do something?" Shikamaru's voice broke her train of thought.

"No," she pulled her fingers through Shikadai's hair which was dark like Shikamaru's but thick like hers. "He's just at that age, you know?"

"What age? Eight?" Temari sighed.

"He doesn't want to be treated like a baby any more. He's embarrassed to be in bed with us but he has a cold and he's still young so he didn't want to sleep alone either."

"Hmm, well, he doesn't seem too concerned with _you_ thinking he's acting childish," he motioned to where Shikadai clung to her side. Temari smiled affectionately.

"I'm his mother," she huffed proudly in a matter of fact way. "He looks up to you more anyways. That's why he always tries to act tougher than he is. Remind you of anyone?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he smirked, eyes reflecting the nostalgia in hers.

Shikamaru moved closer to the two of them. Perhaps he had also realized how rare times like this were about to become. "He's pretty big now."

"Don't say that."

She felt her lips tug down. Temari always wanted Shikadai to stay small and dependent on her. Of course, that wasn't how the world worked but it didn't stop her from wishing.

"You know, he's tall for his age. He'll definitely be taller than me."

"Nope, he's going to stay this little forever."

Shikamaru never responded, maybe he was simply too tired or maybe he was thinking about how fast Shikadai was growing up. Soon, a second set of snores filled the bedroom.

Temari fondly stroked both of their pineapple heads, taking a mental picture of this moment, before letting sleep take her.


	43. Discrimination

Her temper was something to be reckoned with; she was well aware of that. In a way, it was a lot like a volcano.

She could withstand a lot of irritation, let it build up for days, weeks, months, and then suddenly erupt.

It was one of the reasons why she and Shikamaru worked so well together. Most of the time, it was a challenge to get any type of angry reaction out of him.

He was indulgent and much more tolerant of others than she was; he balanced her out in that regard. Shikamaru was just a laid-back person, making what was unfolding now an unexpected turn of events.

Her usual prudent and even-tempered husband was causing a scene in the middle of the street. People all around were staring at them and Temari just knew that her ears were tinged pink.

"Shikamaru," she hissed, tugging on his arm. "It's not that big a deal. Let's just go."

Her begging fell on deaf ears.

His face was red, a result of his rage and shouting. Instead of slouching, he stood at his full height, towering over the man in front of them.

Unlike most men she knew, Shikamaru didn't get angry when his honor was questioned; he was a genius after all and didn't trouble himself with petty things. The only that that roused him was when someone insulted his friends or family.

Not many people saw that side of him as it was usually restricted to the battlefield but now his temper was right on display.

"It is **_not_** fine Temari," he growled.

She wouldn't lie; it was nice to have someone sticking up for her honor no matter how old-fashioned that sounded. Being a diplomat before the war, Temari was more than accustomed to this kind of treatment.

People were naturally suspicious of those who didn't live in their villages.

She had heard and seen everything in the book.

Honestly, she couldn't blame the villagers; even now when she was an official resident.

Although, to anyone with brains, it did seem highly unlikely that a spy would try to seduce information from someone for years and years only to marry said person as a result.

For the most part, people in Konoha were very friendly towards her. For the most part, it was the older generation that tended not to trust outsiders.

So she received wary glances from time to time or heard someone whisper the odd insult behind her back – she had thick skin – it didn't get to her anymore.

But today this merchant had chosen the wrong time to make his snide comment. She should have known what would happen. That guarded look in his eyes and downwards twist of his mouth should have made her walk away and take her business elsewhere.

It was the man's unfortunate luck that made her husband reappear just in time to hear the merchant insult her birth place, accuse her of being an enemy spy and finally refuse to sell her anything. It was just her luck to be powerless and standing here listening to Shikamaru face-off with this man who was beneath both of them.

The man had obviously realized his mistake as soon as Shikamaru stormed over. The head strategist and future Nara clan head was well known even amongst civilians.

Temari almost feel bad for him.

He was white as a sheet and probably trembling after the verbal assault he had received.

He was older and she reasoned that his negative response towards foreigners was most likely a product of the times. However, Shikamaru was not nearly as ready to forgive.

"Shikamaru, can we please go?"

"We're not going anywhere until you get an apology."

His words were sharp and extended as a threat. The older man spared no time in making a hasty apology, which she felt was more directed towards Shikamaru then herself, and all but running away.

Unsure of how to proceed, Temari reached out for Shikamaru's arm. The role of relaxing someone after an argument did not usually fall to her...truthfully, it _never_ fell to her.

To her surprise, Shikamaru grabbed her hand none too gently and started off down the street.

By the look on his face she assumed that he was still worked up. And like the man she had known and fallen in love with he was choosing to remain silent now rather than say something in a moment of anger he'd regret later.

Temari could empathize with how he must be feeling. She hated how people would talk about Gaara when he first became the Kazekage.

However, it still pained her to see how upset Shikamaru was. At the moment she was battling with herself.

Would it be better to tell him about the looks and the snide comments or to just wait for it to pass? If he found out on his own she would be dealing with a lot more than just his frustration towards the people questioning her place in Konoha.

"Shikamaru?" she hated how tentative her voice sounded.

It was most likely her timid tone that got him to look at her.

She could pick out every emotion in his eyes: anger, disappointment, guilt and sadness. On some level, even though it wasn't her fault, she felt responsible.

"He deserved it Temari, every word," his voice was filled with abnormal hostility.

Squeezing his hand she forced him to come to a stop.

"I'm not saying that what he said was right. But you know that there are still a lot of closed minded people. And you can't be there every time something like that happens."

"Temari, you can't just let people say things like that about you!"

"Shikamaru, if I stopped to call out every person that gave me a strange look I wouldn't get anything done in a day," she couldn't help raising her voice.

Shikamaru's brows furrowed and she knew he was seriously trying to think of a solution. Peoples' minds couldn't be changed overnight.

"I just...I thought it would be different here, that people would have finally gotten over the grudges held against other villages in the past and especially one we're allied with no less."

"Honestly it doesn't bother me," she raised a hand when he opened his mouth to argue, "What bothers me is how upset you are."

He took time to seriously consider this before he sighed, all the tension leaving his body at once.

"I'm coming with you next time you go to the market."

"I really doubt the same man or anyone in that general area is going to say anything after the scene we just caused."

She got a half smirk out of him but he didn't revise his statement. Temari couldn't help but smile up at her cry-baby and now self-proclaimed babysitter.

"Come on, I'm supposed to be the irritable one in this relationship."


	44. Prodigy

There were many different types of people when it came to schooling as far as Shikadai was concerned.

There were the kids who already seemed to know everything, read all the material before hand, but showed up anyways. Those types, he thought, were in it only for the bragging rights. They needed to be praised constantly and always asked the teacher what they thought of their work even when they knew it was better than most of the class'.

There were the average kids who came to class one part ready to learn the other part just to socialize.

There were those who didn't want to be there but were forced by their parents.

Some kids didn't care what their parents thought and chose to attend whenever it suited them.

And then there was him, a student who would have fit under the 'average' heading save for one difference; his grades. It didn't matter whether he read the books or listened during class. Using basic logic always gave him the right answers.

Was there such a thing as an average genius?

He sighed in annoyance and rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he had picked up from his father, one of many. In his hands was his first assessment.

All around him his classmates were either comparing, boasting or hastily crumpling and stuffing the paper into their bags. He wasn't surprised by his results.

He had gone over the likelihood of all the possible outcomes and this one had been the most probable. One hundred, it was a perfect score in every single category.

What a pain.

Why couldn't he be more like his mom or even like his dad in this regard? Although he was praised for being a genius, his father had never particularly excelled academically. Of course, he had never taken school seriously either. Perhaps he should've purposely answered some of the questions wrong.

That's what his dad had probably done; did just well enough so Grandma wouldn't maim him but not so well as to raise anyone's expectations. Shikadai had known that was an option.

So why hadn't he done it?

Maybe it was because of his classmates, his friends in particular were different from everyone else in this generation. They were the children of war heroes.

Expectations had been thrust upon them not just by their parents, but by their own and neighbouring villages.

Strangers had been watching their progress since the day they were born.

With two parents and uncles as esteemed as his were, he couldn't afford to be anything less that his best. Everyone around him was doing the same. Being the son of the Hokage and Hyuuga or the daughter of the last surviving Uchiha and greatest medical ninja were not easy titles to bear.

He was the son of the village's top strategist so he felt duty bound to achieve high marks in class and apply himself to the battlefield. He was also the son of a diplomat, so he had to be knowledgeable about the happenings in other villages and learn how to be fair and remain objective. He was the nephew of perhaps the most famous Kazekage so he needed to be strong and do what was best for his village.

Looking at his assessment, Shikadai realized that this was the first step in a chain reaction.

From this point onwards he would have to get serious about achieving all of those goals; to earn the name Nara.

"Hey, Shikadai, how did you do?"

It was Inojin, his best friend and school enthusiast. Out of the Ino-Shika-Cho, he was the most driven.

"How troublesome," he muttered. Shikadai could see his score of eighty eight. Inojin was smart. That score was above the class average.

"He probably just passed. I saw lazy sleep through the entire class where sensei was talking about what to expect on the exam."

Cho-cho butted in, chewing her gum obnoxiously as she spoke. From here, Shikadai could see that she had scored a fifty three, talk about barely passing.

"School is a drag. I'm tired," he yawned for emphasis, "I'll see you guys later."

Ignoring the disappointed looks from his friends, he made his way home. Shikadai had been successful at evading their questions but he knew three people he didn't stand a chance against: his mother, his grandmother and his father.

The walk home gave him enough time to try and figure out how they would respond. His mom would be happy, if not surprised. She was always complaining about how she never saw him reading a book. Since he never studied, she would probably just chalk this up to innate smarts.

Since grandma visited regularly, she was bound to find out sooner or later. She would definitely pinch his cheeks and then comment on how much more motivated he was than his father, an occurrence that always embarrassed him as his dad was often in the same room at the time. Trying to figure out how his dad would react was more difficult.

Everyone outside of his family assumed that he was exactly like his father just because they looked similar.

Obviously, his dad would be able to see the differences between them, but to what extent? There was no way he'd be disappointed. Would he be confused? In some way, that was almost worse. Shikadai didn't want to have to explain himself for fear of sounding naive. What would his dad say if he told him that he felt like there was a family legacy to uphold?

He would have to come in with an offensive attack right off the bat. The fastest way to get his old man off his case was to attribute this 'new found motivation' to his mom's genes. No matter how often his parents bickered, how often his dad complained about his mother's nagging, Shikadai knew that they were never serious about it. If they ever did get into a real argument, the two of them were too level headed to let it get out of hand.

Shikadai was always hyper-aware that his father tended to look for any of his mother's traits in him. Most of the time, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack or in this case in a jumble of Nara DNA.

The colour and shape of his eyes were the most obvious resemblance they shared but whenever he got competitive about a game or god forbid actually became motivated about something his father's eyes would widen before narrowing in contentedness, a smile on his face. He knew that those types of things came directly from his wife.

His dad was kind of a sap that way.

Shikadai released another sigh as he walked towards a familiar house.

"Moooom, I'm hooome." He might as well keep up with appearances before dropping the bomb.

"I'm in the living room," his mother called back.

In a last ditch attempt to escape, he quietly stepped down the hall and tried to tip toe his way up the stairs.

"How was school?"

She knew. Of course, she knew. Instead of saying anything, because that would be too bothersome, he simply handed her his assessment and tried to get out of the room.

Her hand came down and grabbed the collar of his jacket so fast he hadn't even seen it move.

He swallowed nervously. His mother was definitely the most terrifying of all his friends.

Like he had predicted earlier, her eyes widened in shock before settling on his face. He swallowed, suddenly feeling hot under the collar. There was something about the way she was able to look at a person, like she knew what you were thinking. After a few more torturous seconds she decided that she wasn't going to learn anything new without questioning him.

"How did this happen?"

"What, do you think I cheated?" She huffed and released her hold on him.

"Of course not, I'm just wondering how my son, who I have never seen read a book that had to do with school, managed to get a perfect score."

"Maybe I study when you're not looking."

"And maybe you're trying to dodge the subject."

Having a battle of wits with either of his parents was not an enjoyable thing. His mom was more of a straight shooter while his dad tended to confuse him. However, his mother would keep him here for as long as it took to get an answer.

"Mom, I don't need to study. Anyone could answer those questions if they really thought about it. I can't help what my mind chooses to remember."

She looked at him head on before throwing her head back in laughter. He had no idea what was so funny.

"You shouldn't frown like that," she chastised, "you'll turn into an old man before you're twenty."

Her eyes were serious but a lopsided grin stayed on her face. His mother was strange. But, her carefree smile made him happy and he felt a small bit of pride that he had put it there. She took his assessment and stuck it to the fridge with magnets, just like she had done with all his awful scribbled drawings he had made for her in the past.

"Your dad will be happy," she ruffled his hair before turning back to whatever she had been doing before. She hummed as she walked past, seemingly in a better mood now.

* * *

It wasn't until later that night that his dad walked through the door.

Shikadai decided to stay in his room. His mom would surely brag on his behalf and he'd rather not get in between their greeting. Despite this, he still strained his ears, trying to hear what they were saying between bouts of laughter and whispering.

The sound of heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs made him take action.

He knew they were much too loud to be his mother's. Quickly, he made himself seem busy by grabbing one of his games.

Instead of knocking, his dad simply walked right into his room. Both of them did that; knocking on a door in your own home was just plain bothersome. His dad sat down next to him on the bed and patiently waited for something to be said.

After a long pause, he sighed and admitted defeat.

"You did well on your assessment. Are you sure you didn't cheat?" He gave Shikadai a knowing smirk.

He, out of everyone, would understand that cheating wasn't even necessary for that type of thing.

Even if the test had been hard, Shikadai wasn't someone who cheated. He wanted to be able to say that he had gotten wherever he was due to his own skills.

"Tch," he admonished.

"I had kind of hoped you would have run up to the door when I got in and displayed it proudly. You used to do that, you know? You would drag me inside and show off every single drawing you had done that day, all proud of yourself," he laughed.

Shikadai's face flushed bright red in embarrassment. Ugh, his dad was just a reservoir of troublesome childhood stories.

"Why would I do something like that now?" He protested hotly.

"I know, I know. Humility is a good trait," he stated approvingly. "I'm just teasing you. I have to have some fun in my day."

"It's not even that big a deal," he looked down at his feet, being praised by his dad always made him feel a little self-conscious.

"Hmm, but you thought it was a big deal. Otherwise, you wouldn't have tried so hard."

His dad smiled at him in that knowing ways of his and it was all Shikadai could do to not roll his eyes.

"We're proud of you."

With that, he sluggishly hoisted himself off the bed and walked out of the room.

Shikadai went back to playing his game, aware that some new start of fire was burning inside of him; some sort of competitive spirit. A crooked grin formed on his face.

"What a drag."


	45. A Man's Duty

He could tell from the rigidness of her stance and by the way she was massacring whatever poor vegetable she was chopping that he was in for a discussion he probably would not enjoy.

After working a long day, coming home to an angry wife made him feel all the more exhausted. Though, it would be better to figure out what had set her off now than wait for her anger to fester.

Shikamaru searched through his memory to find something he had done earlier that may have set her off but nothing came to mind.

"Temari," he walked up behind her, announcing his presence to avoid surprising her.

Startling someone with a knife was unwise; startling a kunoichi with one was lethal.

She spun around with all the terrible grace of a cyclone. Now that he could see her face, he was able to discern that she was not so much angry as she was upset. He watched some of the irritation from her eyes melt away once she saw him.

He allowed himself to relax, knowing that he was obviously not the cause or would be the recipient of her frustration. She placed the knife on the counter and in a swift couple steps she reached out to him, enveloping him in an embrace that was a little tighter than usual.

This brought on a whole new set of questions.

"Temari," he tried once more.

Her only response was to constrict him further. Even though he'd like nothing more than to crawl into bed and go to sleep, he stays standing here with her.

"How was your day?" It's a loaded question.

He feels rather than sees her tense at his words. When she pulls back her teal eyes are sparkling with emotion.

"Sakura came over and I watched Sarada while she worked a shift at the hospital."

He was still confused after the explanation. Temari and Sakura were great friends. Also, he knew that Temari always enjoyed looking after Sarada. She complained, in a teasing manner of course, about having to deal with men; Shikadai and himself. Sarada was almost like the daughter she never had.

"Did the two of you get in a fight?"

"No. Sakura is not the problem and Sarada isn't either."

He could tell that she wanted to say more. Her lips remained partially open the words wanting the get out. But she stopped to appraise him, and then let out a weary sigh.

"It's not important; I'm fine. You're tired. Let's just go to bed."

He really wanted to argue but he let her lead him to their room.

There was no way she was okay. Anyone who reacted that way was not fine. Not for the first time, he wished she would show some weakness to him.

But no, Temari was all about telling bold faced lies in order to stay strong, or at least uphold the appearance of strength.

* * *

He watched her with trained eyes as she got ready for bed, his own routine much shorter.

She took an exceedingly long time, fumbling around. Her eyes were distracted when she joined him. And she only allowed him a precious few seconds to read her expression before she turned her back to him. Her delicate hand reached out to the light on their bedside and submerged the room into darkness.

Now they were at an impasse.

She wasn't sleeping and he wouldn't either. Should he say something? He wanted to reach out and touch her but he was a little afraid that she would snap at him.

"Do you think Sakura is okay?" Her voice cuts through the darkness.

And once again, she says something he wasn't expecting. He didn't know how she meant it. Though they didn't see each other as often, he didn't think Sakura looked any different.

She was a busy now with work and a baby but she held herself together well and always looked happy. Temari's tone was worried and he wonders if maybe there was something obviously wrong with Sakura that he failed to notice.

"How could he do it?" she grits out, there's a fair amount of venom in her voice.

Her shoulders are tense again. And he must be really tired because his brain can't process this question either.

"What?"

"Leave...how could he just leave?"

Oh - There's a tension in the room that he wishes would disappear. There's no answer he can give her that will be good enough. Nothing sounds right to him: fulfilling duty, earning redemption, regaining honour, none of those things seem like a fair exchange.

"She's all alone in that house with Sarada," Temari flips onto her back, glaring at the ceiling, "he gets to continue doing what he's always done and she's just stuck, waiting for who knows how long."

He doesn't interrupt her rant to point out that what Sasuke's doing is very important, a mission that only he can do while Naruto is here in the village.

It's essential for the village he thinks he should say but he's knows she'll just counter with 'and what about what's essential for his _family_?"

"What about Sarada? She won't even know him. All she'll have are pictures and the stories people tell her. How is Sakura going to explain that?"

He knows that, in her mind, she's putting herself in that scenario.

She's imagining Shikadai without a present father. She's imagining their son asking about him, why he chose to leave them.

Thinking about it now, he feels enormously guilty even though he hasn't done anything.

"And she's so busy all the time. She's going to wear herself out. How could he do it?"

Temari has turned herself to face him completely now.

And it takes him a couple of seconds to realize that she's truly asking him now and waiting for an answer.

"I don't know." It's the truth.

He would never be put in that position in the first place. He wasn't strong enough to carry out a mission of that kind. And, even if he was, now that he had taste of this life, with her and a child, he knew for certain that he could never give it up.

He wasn't Sasuke. Perhaps, that was the right answer.

He wasn't Sasuke, Temari wasn't Sakura and Shikadai wasn't Sarada.

They were separate families with very different lives.

"The history between those two," he started, "it's really complicated and frankly I couldn't be bothered to keep track of everything that happened when we were younger but they've always been like this." Finally, in his mind, now seemed like the right time to reach out for her. "I'm not saying I'd do the same thing –

"You better not," she interrupted. He held her tighter in reassurance.

"It's a complex situation," he continued. "Really, there isn't anything anyone can do about it. They'll have to sort it out for themselves."

"I know," she grumbled.

Even though she already looked after Sarada when Sakura was busy and frequently got together with her friend, he knew she still wanted to do more.

It was admirable but if he could spare her feelings before she got herself too involved he would.

There was a little crease between her eyebrows, the kind she always teased him for. He lowered his head to place a kiss there.

And it works. Not only does her brow settle but her whole body seems to relax into his. The rhythmic stroke of his hand on her back will hopefully ease her into an untroubled sleep.

He thinks about being away right now, travelling the world.

When he went out on missions, he did enjoy sleeping under the stars at night. However, he didn't miss being out in the cold and on the hard ground.

He can't lie.

Travelling the world, at his own pace, purely for the sake of experiencing the great nations, away from the responsibilities of life, it would be nice. However, living a life free of responsibility wouldn't be an option unless he was willing to forsake everything he had right now.

And he isn't.

He was very happy with his position as advisor, even if Naruto could be scatterbrained and the paperwork was never ending.

Taking charge of clan meetings was a drag but he took pride in being a part of the Nara clan. His son, who had already given him so much joy even though he could not speak, and Temari, who he cherished most of all, nothing would pull him away from them.

Men were supposed to fight for their villages and their families. Temari was sound asleep in his arms by now.

Each exhale slightly shifted the strands of blonde hair that had fallen in her sleep into her face. Gently, he brushed them away, pleased by his unobstructed view.

"Men aren't supposed to let go of their women." He affirmed. "It's nothing but troublesome."


	46. Jidai

It had been almost twenty years since a child had last been born in their family.

Back when they were still children themselves, the three siblings had thought their line would end with them. The idea hadn't been too farfetched at the time. They were all ostracized and feared by the people in Suna. Perhaps, it was that acceptance of the dim future that made this moment so important.

Despite all their excitement, the two brothers had felt nervous to enter the hospital room. Somehow it felt almost wrong to infringe upon the peace that seemed to rest heavy in the air.

Gaara and Kankuro had ran to Konoha with great speed.

Of course, their sister's incredibly long labour was what made it possible for them to be here at the hospital versus at the Nara home.

Gaara had been the first person, besides the messenger, to receive the news that Temari was having the baby, that he would be an uncle. Kankuro had quickly burst into his office and an unspoken agreement flashed between their eyes.

They left the village in Baki's care and quickly made for the village hidden in the leaves.

* * *

She, their only and beloved sister, lay half perched up in bed holding the bundle in her arms.

Her body looked exhausted; hair slicked back, the faintest hint of sweat still lingering on her brow. However, her face held an unmasked joy. Neither brother thought they had ever seen her with such a gentle expression.

It was strange to see Temari in this way.

Although the two of them held their own impressive accomplishments, it was their sister who was leaps and bounds ahead of them in terms of her social life. They were happy for her. It was enough for them to live vicariously through her, to watch their sister fall in love, get married and have children.

Shikamaru was standing next to her bedside, leaning over to look at the child. His eyes were also filled with affection.

The look of love in a father's eyes was not something either of them had ever experienced and it was a relief that their nephew would receive it; not that it had ever been a real concern of theirs, they knew Shikamaru was very different from their father.

The two of them stood awkwardly in the doorway, gifts in hand, waiting to be invited in.

Shikamaru noticed them first.

He leaned down and whispered something in Temari's ear. Her eyes, still holding warmth, flitted up to meet theirs.

She looked surprised to see them. Yet, she smiled with that uninhibited childish grin that was so uniquely Temari. They were motioned to come closer by the nod of her head. And the two of them crossed the short distance to see their nephew.

He seemed so small and delicate. Yet, anyone could tell the baby was very healthy.

A flush of pink tinted his skin. Even now, the tiniest tufts of soft dark hair could be seen upon his head. He was beautiful.

For Gaara, there didn't seem to be any words to properly express how he was feeling, though Kankuro had no problem being the first to speak up.

"He looks nothing like you Temari."

The temperature seemed to drop several degrees as Temari twisted to glare at her eldest brother.

Of course, she must have realized the truth in his words. The child bore a shocking resemblance to his father. However, just because she knew it to be true didn't mean that she wanted to hear it.

"He has my eyes," she mumbled, caressing the her son's head.

Said eyes were closed in slumber right now; being born was hard work. Although he wasn't awake, it was hard not to be transfixed by the way he would pucker his lips or let out a little coo.

"Gaara," Temari's voice caught her younger brother's attention. "You haven't said anything yet. Do you want to hold him?"

"W-what?"

Kankuro sniggered a little at his brother's very flustered face. Before Gaara could even say anything, Temari was already moving the place the baby in his arms.

"Just make sure to support his head," she cautioned. With a little manoeuvring, Gaara was holding his nephew. Truthfully, Gaara was very nervous to hold such a fragile thing. The baby could sense his anxiety and instantly began to fuss.

"Ah, I did something wrong. Temari take him back."

Kankuro was now openly laughing at the formidable Kazekage's distress and even Shikamaru was lightly sniggering.

"You're fine Gaara. Try rocking him back and forth."

Taking his sister's advice, as he himself was utterly clueless, Gaara began to lightly swing his nephew back and forth. The swaying motion did the trick and no sooner had the boy stopped fussing did he open his eyes. Like Temari had said, her son's eyes were indeed like her own, the shape and colour. The young Kazekage felt the newfound bond to his nephew strengthen as he looked into those unfocused eyes.

He could only find it in him to look away when he heard sniffling. Temari was crying. Both brothers watched in horror as large teardrops fell from her eyes. Neither of them had ever seen their sister cry. If they had, they would have been too young to remember.

Shikamaru was much more used to the sight as pregnancy had mercilessly played with Temari's emotions making them even more volatile than usual. Also, both had been in tears earlier today when their son had been born. It was an emotional time for everyone. And he could understand why seeing her brothers hold their son might make her cry.

"Sorry," she muttered, taking the tissue Shikamaru held out for her.

"How are those hormones treating you?"

Kankuro jested in an effort to hide his discomfort. Honestly, he didn't know how Shikamaru had survived with nine full months of his sister like this. It took a special kind person to handle her usual self. Whoever it was, needed to be thick skinned and perceptive enough to see through her blunt words, find the genuine care that always lay hidden beneath them. Kankuro amended Shikamaru for that.

"Shut up," his sister glared at him with annoyance.

However, her voice wasn't harsh enough for him to be afraid. Kankuro also doubted that she was in any shape or form to attack him, even if she wanted to.

What he wasn't prepared for was Shikamaru's warning look. He found himself swallowing some indignation. He and Temari often teased each other as children; it was a part of their relationship. Although he admitted his words could have been kinder, he didn't appreciate feeling like he was being scolded by Shikamaru who was a year younger than himself.

Despite his feelings, he found himself obligated to apologize under her husband's scrutiny,

"Sorry."

She looked surprised that he would apologize to her but otherwise thought nothing of it.

"Gaara let Kankuro have a turn."

Unlike his brother, Kankuro was eager to hold the boy. Ever since he found out Temari was having a baby, he had secretly hoped it would be a boy. What did he know about young girls? He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to relate to a girl.

Although, he would probably would have caved and played tea party if his niece had begged.

He was a little more confident with a nephew. His arms seemed to swallow up the boy. One of the baby's small hands had escaped from the blanket he was swaddled in and Kankuro studied it; the kid's whole hand would only be able to wrap around his pinky.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Gaara asked the new parents.

Kankuro passed the baby off to Shikamaru, since it seemed like everyone was getting a turn. Before answering, the leaf shinobi looked down at their sister with a loving expression that, at any other time, would have had Kankuro teasing them.

"Shikadai," he said proudly.

The Nara namesake had been a given but the 'dai' at the end was their choice. It suited him. Not only was he a part of a new generation in the shinobi world, he was a new era for their family. The two brothers smiled as the name reverberated in their minds.


	47. Weaknesses

Love played a large role in how the fourth Shinobi world war had ended. It may be thought of as the universal driving force.

Certainly, no one who had ever known pain could have done so without first experiencing love. Therefore, it went to reason that without love there would be no hate or sadness.

The Akatsuki, even Sasuke Uchiha, had viewed love as a weakness. It took someone like Naruto to show, not only his enemies, but everyone that without pain and, above all, without love life wasn't worth living. And Shikamaru would have to agree with his friend. Nevertheless, to live with these weaknesses was a constant risk.

A weakness was always there for an enemy to manipulate and to exploit.

The kinds of weaknesses that people fought wars over were not guilty pleasures. He had a weakness for sleeping in on his days off. He enjoyed his rest, but it was something he could easily sacrifice for other more important things.

The loss of a home, the loss of a family, of a lover, that was the kind of torment that haunted people. They were the type of weaknesses that, while bringing a person the most joy, could simultaneously be the death of them.

The heart was a miraculous thing. No matter how many times it was ripped apart, the capability to love somehow remained, even if it was hidden in the deepest recesses.

The heart that had lost the most seemed to latch onto new love with a frenzied zeal; it put so much hope into its beginnings in an attempt to forget the past.

That was what he had done.

After all of the death war had brought – his father, his teacher, his friends – she had been a necessary reprieve. Perhaps it was foolish to tell yourself that one person was responsible for so much of your happiness, but when he thought to himself, it always rang true.

Now he was paying the price.

He was about to break the code of shinobi and let his emotions cloud his judgment. He was about to abandon the mission. He was going to sacrifice the lives of many people for one; for her.

Someone else had been in his position some time ago and in that moment he couldn't have imagined what it felt like. Naruto had given so much of his heart to Hinata that, when she had rejected him to find Hanabi, he had almost stopped functioning. While the fate of the world hung in the balance, he had wallowed in his misfortune before finally taking action after Shikamaru's own prompting.

The irony of his current situation did not escape him.

He was about to make the very decision he had criticized Naruto for, putting his own emotional needs against the well being of others. Finding out she had died would tear him apart but knowing that he had the chance to save her and failed would destroy him.

Shikamaru was having trouble wrapping his mind around how this mission had turned so disastrous.

They were a team of ten, chuunin and jounin, against only five rogues. Everything had been going according to plan, there were only two more they needed to bring down before he had blacked out. He hadn't even seen what had hit him. But when his eyes opened again, the scene before him had changed for the worse.

His team had somehow gotten captured. Ropes littered with explosive tags held them together. And there was only one rogue ninja standing before him, face upturned in sadistic glee, holding onto Temari by the neck. Her fan was gone and he could see a large blood stain on her stomach, seeping through her shirt, which had not been there before he lost consciousness. Her normally bright eyes were unfocused, an indicator of blood loss.

The enemy ninja had a kunai pressed to her chest and the words he snarled were ringing in Shikamaru's head, "Your choice."

He had done the calculations with lightning speed. There was absolutely no way to save one without losing the other.

It was his team or Temari. Eight lives for one.

There was no way defend his decision, even when factoring in his love for her, because he would be breaking other people's hearts in the process. He would be taking away someone else's sibling, parent or lover. It wasn't the logical thing to do but it took him no less than two seconds to make up his mind.

The blade pressed to her chest began to draw blood and he snapped to attention. There was something so familiar about this scenario, the helplessness of it all. It reminded him of when Asuma had died. His teacher's life had ended this way, on his knees with a blade through his chest.

And Shikamaru would be damned if he let the same thing happen again with her.

He got up with intention to run to her only then realizing that he too was bound; hands and feet. He felt the birth of a hollow dread form in his stomach.

The rogue ninja began to produce hand signs and he could hear the explosive tags start to sizzle like the wick on a piece of TNT.

The shinobi tied up began to struggle but he only had eyes for the man who had pressed the tip of his kunai further towards Temari's heart, eliciting a tortured scream from the girl.

"Stop!" he begged.

It was most likely hopeless to try and plead or appeal the man's better nature. However, nothing was above Shikamaru right now.

In an awful moment of clarity, all the time he had spent with her seemed to flash before his eyes.

Temari staring him down in the arena after he had forfeited their battle.

Temari flashing him that million watt smile after saving his life for the first time.

Temari lecturing him for something he had been too lazy to do.

Temari agreeing to go on a date with him, making his heart leap.

Temari accompanying him to Naruto's wedding, dancing with him.

Her temper, her laugh, the feeling of her hand in his, kissing her goodnight, all of it was lying in the balance. The tears were falling from his eyes in earnest now.

"What's your choice?" the rogue gritted out.

"_Her_!" he didn't think it was possible to scream any louder. "_Her_, I choose_ her_!"

Shikamaru couldn't bear to look as the man snapped his fingers and, at once, the explosion went off. His averted eyes did nothing to stop the spray of blood he felt on his face; eight lives lost.

He felt sick.

With baited breath he waited for the confines around his limbs to loosen or for the rogue to release her but neither of those things happened.

"No," he whispered, realizing what was about to ensue before the other even moved.

"No. Stop! **TEMARI**!"

In one calculated move, the ninja rammed the entire blade through her chest, leaving only the hilt visible. She took a sharp inhale before the all the breath left her body in a staggered manner. Their eyes met for the briefest second before hers slid shut.

The man released her, letting her body crash to the ground with a finality that shattered the thin hold Shikamaru had on his sanity.

He had experienced it once before, but not quite like this, the feeling of love transforming into a boiling hot rage. First it was the ache, the unbearable sadness that ripped through him.

She was gone.

He would never get to see her walk down an aisle. They would never get to wake up to each other in the morning. He would never see her face in their children.

It wasn't simply the pain of losing the one he was in love with; this was the pain of losing a friend, a lifelong companion. All of this had happened on his watch. If only he had planned better, if only he had been more observant and had not let himself get knocked down, she would still be alive.

None of that mattered now.

Shikamaru hardly noticed the pain in his arms as his hands twisted in an unnatural way, freeing themselves of his bindings with a sickening snap. He couldn't forgive himself. He would take his own life.

But before that, he would kill this man in cold blood.

_Shikamaru...Shikamaru..._

* * *

"Shikamaru!" an authoritative voice called.

Subconsciously, he realized that someone was shaking his shoulders in a rough manner.

Slowly he began to register his surroundings. There was a pulsing in his head. And his throat felt raw. Then everything came back to him and he was hit by an onslaught of emotion.

No.

He wasn't supposed to be here. He was angry for still being alive, for waking up, until a hand grabbed his chin and wrenched his face up.

"The fight is over now. The enemy caught you in a genjutsu. You're really susceptible to them, huh? Are you okay?" the last question was asked softly and with genuine concern.

A pair of teal eyes stared down at him. There was no blood. She was breathing. He sat up and with trembling fingers and reached out to put a hand on her neck. Her pulse was steady and strong.

"Shikamaru?" she asked again.

He probably looked like death itself, pale as a ghost, eyes wild. Without any indication, he pulled her into a crushing embrace, partially because he needed to affirm that this was real and partially to hide the fact that his eyes were watery with relief. Her muscles initially tensed before she brought her arms around him.

"Go on ahead," she ordered the rest of the team.

So it was a genjutsu all along? Now that his mind was clearing, it was starting to make more sense.

There was no way he could have passed out without seeing who or what had hit him in the first place. But the scene the enemy had created kept him too enthralled to scrutinize what was happening. They had known exactly where to hit him.

He had given himself away earlier, he figured, by trying to get in between her and them. Temari had given him an earful about it at the time. He almost wanted to laugh but the sound would probably come out like a weak sob. At a time like this, he didn't think he would be able to handle her teasing.

"You were screaming pretty loud," her voice was slightly muted as his face was still pressed to her chest.

Her shirt was wet now. He'd have to apologize for that later.

If he had been shouting, it was safe to assume that she had figured out at least partially what had happened in the genjutsu. He didn't want to talk about it or even think about it. Regardless, the image of her on the ground would be there when he closed his eyes tonight.

Temari rubbed comforting circles on his back as he held on tighter. He had to focus on the feel of her fingers and the sound of her beating heart to calm down.

"We should catch up with them."

"Mm," he still didn't know what to think about seeing the rest of their team. Yeah, there were no actual fatalities but he had betrayed all of them in his mind, sentenced them to a death none of them had deserved. Shikamaru was certain that, in this state, his legs wouldn't even be able to support his body. He felt Temari begin to pull away and his initial reaction was to pull her back but she only moved far enough to get a look at his face.

"It's okay now."

The look in her eyes was so strong that he found himself believing those words. He appreciated her not asking to repeat what had happened in the genjutsu.

Only now could Shikamaru begin to feel his heart rate slow. He noticed how tired his limbs were from being so tensed. She wasn't leaving. When her hand reached up to brush away some stray tears, he couldn't even feel embarrassed. All he did was relish in the contact.

For all her talk, Temari still seemed worried.

He must have looked worse than he felt. Shikamaru wondered if she even realized just how much power she had. Of course, she knew she was strong, to the extent of being cocky in a mildly endearing sort of way. And she wasn't unaware that she could manipulate him into doing her bidding.

But did she know the influence she had on his decision making, the force that could be inflicted by Konoha's head strategist, and how it relied heavily on her? It was a terrifying thought, to think of how many lives he would have traded in for hers; the total could have been much higher than eight.

He allows Temari to pull free from his grasp and pull him up to his feet. Thankfully, it only takes a couple of seconds to find his balance. Shikamaru has already lost enough pride today in front of their team. And he'd rather not have Temari think he was still the cry-baby he had been all those years ago.

"How do you feel now?"

"Tired," as he says it, his body seems to catch up with his mind. Exhaustion creeps in every pore.

"When we get back, you should sleep." The thought of bed is very tempting. Sleeping is one of his weaknesses after all, but it's nothing compared to the one standing next to him.

"Temari?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay with me?"


	48. Put on Hold

"Um...Shikamaru it's not that we're not happy that you could make it to barbeque but ...," Chouji didn't quite know how to finish his sentence.

Under any other circumstances, Shikamaru being able to join him and Ino in spite of his hectic schedule would be welcomed.

It had been a long time since the three of them had done something together.

Even if Chouji only ate, Ino blabbed away and he chose to stay silent, there was something calming about eating together.

It was like old times.

"If you're just going sigh and mope around, why did you even bother coming?" Ino questioned, getting right to the point that Chouji had been trying to delicately approach.

It was very much like their blonde teammate to ask a question bluntly without much respect for anyone's feelings. Chouji had to admit it was a more efficient way but, with how Shikamaru was acting, he was worried that a fight may break out.

Thankfully, it looked like Shikamaru was going to let Ino off with a glare. The two of them had been quite surprised when he had come into Yakiniku Q and not just because he was so busy.

Temari was in Konoha this week. It was no secret that Shikamaru would rather spend his time bickering with her than eating with them.

And after their lazy teammate had finally plucked up the courage and asked her out it stood to reason that they would see even less of him.

So why was he here?

Shikamaru hadn't touched his food. He went from tapping his fingers on the table with an irritated quirk in his brow to letting out frustrated sighs every now and again.

"What's your deal Shikamaru? Did Kakashi assign you a particularly 'troublesome' mission?"

The rhythm of Shikamaru's fingers sped up and Chouji matched the pace, shoveling food into his face anxiously.

"Tch, troublesome," the Nara exclaimed, looking directly at Ino, implying that she was being bothersome.

"Did you get blown off or something?"

The tapping of Shikamaru's fingers came to an abrupt halt and Chouji swallowed. The atmosphere suddenly became even more downcast as Ino seemed to be right on target. Instead of looking proud for discerning the problem, her blue eyes were completely sympathetic, which made Shikamaru even more irritated.

His teammates couldn't help but feel sorry for him. They both thought it must be difficult, having feelings for someone who lived so far away. Even before what had happened in the land of silence, the days after a meeting at the shinobi union or when it was time for Temari to head back to Suna, there was always something off about him.

Somehow he was moodier and even more lethargic than usual.

Right now he was just being downright unpleasant but at least his friends understood the situation a little bit. It would be depressing to wait so long for a person to show up only to have them turn you away when they first arrived.

"Ha, ha, ha," Ino let out an exaggerated and awkward laugh that had Chouji cringing at its unnaturalness. "Don't worry Shikamaru. There must be a good reason for it."

"Work," he muttered, as if cursing its existence.

He knew Temari was serious about her duties as ambassador, annoyingly so. Did that woman really have start all of her paperwork the moment she got here though?

It wasn't even so much her wanting to work that upset him, it was that she had shooed him out of her apartment without so much as an apology, saying she could get the work done faster by herself. What was that all about?

"Don't you and Temari work on the same type of things?" Chouji questioned innocently. "Wouldn't it make more sense for the two of you to work together? You'd probably get things done faster."

"That's exactly what I said!"

Ino wanted to laugh at how naive her two male teammates were. They really knew nothing about woman, perhaps even less about relationships. She was willing to bet her next pay cheque that Temari had kicked Shikamaru out of her apartment, not because she thought it would be more efficient, but because he would be too much of a distraction.

Ino also seriously doubted that the two of them would have gotten much work done had Temari allowed him to stay.

"You'd think she would have given up by now but it's been a whole day," Shikamaru continued to vent.

Ino found it cute that her teammate who usually had the patience of an old man was getting restless after only twenty four hours. From the sounds of it, it didn't even seem like Temari had rejected him. Shikamaru was just pouting, like a child, because he had to wait his turn.

"It's not like she's walking around the village with some other guy. She probably just wants some space."

"I-Ino!" Chouji exclaimed.

He's sure that she had missed just how dangerously Shikamaru's eyes had narrowed, especially at the '_some other guy_' part.

Shikamaru didn't want to act this way. It was unmanly to sulk about a woman and the most aggravating one on the planet no less. Did she take some grim sort of satisfaction in making him wait weeks to see her? It seemed like something she was capable of.

She was probably enjoying herself right now...or she was walking into the restaurant.

Her hair was a little dishevelled. And her face was a little flushed, probably due to the cold outside. He was pretty sure that his knee hit the table in his hurry to get up.

Chouji and Ino looked knowingly towards each other with small grins on their faces which turned positively Cheshire-like in nature when Shikamaru got up from his seat to greet Temari at the door. They were too far away to hear what was being said but the two got just as much amusement from watching.

It seemed that Shikamaru had only spoken a couple of words before Temari turned red and hit him over the head.

After the smack all their teammate did was laugh.

"He's such a goner," Ino commented.

Chouji nodded in agreement, the food tasted better now that everyone was in good spirits. It made the two of them happy to see Shikamaru this way. They couldn't relate to him in terms of intelligence, though they imagined it must be difficult to have such a mind. It made him invaluable to the village, everyone was always asking him to weigh in on things.

And it had been starting to take a toll on him.

But when Temari was here he seemed to relax and his eyes held the same light they had when he was a child. Just now, the change in him was quite dramatic.

He wasn't slouching, there was no hint of his earlier sullen mood and he was actually, genuinely, smiling. His expression was reflected in Temari's face. It wasn't common to see the usually stoic kunoichi from Suna with such a smile.

It was pretty much reserved for Konoha's number one laziest genius.

"Ah, I'm sorry I interrupted your dinner," Temari turned towards the two still seated in the booth. Ino and Chouji would never betray Shikamaru's confidence by saying that her arrival had stopped their friend's grumbling and thus her appearance was actually no bother at all.

"What are you talking about? It's no problem at all. You should eat with us."

"That's all right, I'm not really too hungry," she protested in a manner of practiced politeness. Shikamaru had walked up behind her, having to stoop slightly to get to her ear level.

"You've been doing paper work all day. Have you had anything to eat yet?" The two locked eyes with each other for what seemed like minutes before Temari's eyes guiltily shifted down and to the left.

"Fine," she huffed, sliding into the space that Shikamaru had occupied.

The two of them were so headstrong, for Chouji and Ino it was funny to see how easily they caved to one another.

As the night progressed, it didn't even matter that it wasn't just the three of them. Ino and Chouji could only snicker as Shikamaru tried to persuade Temari to eat more, her fighting his every attempt.

To say that the girl from Suna fit in seamlessly with them would be a bit of a stretch. She was still a little too standoffish and Shikamaru's attention was always a little too divided when she was around.

Nevertheless, the mood of the evening had surely improved.


	49. TenTen's Woes

Tenten had never considered herself as a girl's girl. She would much rather browse a weapons shop than a clothing store. Instead of letting her long hair down to be admired, she pinned it up; it just got in her way while training.

Most kunoichi were like her, prioritizing their training over gussying up. All though some of her friends liked to indulge in more feminine pastimes, they were serious about their titles as shinobi.

Yet now, she feels like she is falling out of the loop with them. It had all started when her friends went and got themselves boyfriends, Tenten mused. They had still remained close but slowly her friends started having less and less time.

It wasn't all bad; they came to her when they were angry about something the boys had said. Even when they had started getting married, the girls would all complain to her about the men in their lives every now and then. She liked the girl talk, despite not being able to relate as much.

There's a little part in her that cries out. It tells her that something must be wrong with her, asks why she isn't where her friends are in life; steady relationship, marriage.

Sometimes she gets lonely but the feeling disappears as soon as she leaves for her next mission. So what if her friends had different life styles?

However, all of their time seemed to disappear once another major change in their lives happened. Suddenly all her friends could talk about was babies. Maybe Tenten could lend an ear for boy problems, maybe even give some advice, but this was hopeless. It was a purely feminine matter, and one she knew nothing about at that.

Tenten could only nod courteously as Ino and Karui complained about morning sickness or as Temari and Hinata talked about their doctor visits.

On top of that, it made all of them emotional...well more emotional than normal. Tenten had never seen anything quite like how hormones had transformed her friends. They made the always gentle Hinata irritable and the indomitable Temari weepy. Even Ino, who was usually so vigorous, had all the energy sucked out of her. Karui just became brasher.

Additionally, they all had to stop training. Perhaps that was for the best, Tenten found herself getting increasingly anxious at the prospect of spending time with her moody friends.

And if she had thought it was bad when all her friends were pregnant it got worse once they all actually had the babies. The very minimal time they all had was completely consumed by screaming infants. Tenten didn't see the appeal. Sure, they could be cute when they were sleeping, she guessed.

They were leaky, screaming creatures who deprived their parents of sleep. They got into things they shouldn't, played in the dirt, picked their nose; the list went and on. For some reason all of her friends had wanted one. Tenten had no idea how Hinata managed to smile when Boruto spat up on her shirt, or how Sakura could still look so lovingly at her daughter after the medic had disclosed to Tenten the utter havoc the baby had wreaked on her body during childbirth.

All any of them ever talked about now was their children. At times, it seemed like they hardly had anything in common. This was what she was thinking as Temari turned to her.

"Can you watch him for a minute?"

The first thing she felt was panic. What was so important that Temari would ask her, Tenten, someone so unqualified, to look after her baby? Surely whatever was in the store couldn't warrant this. Temari didn't even wait for a response before she left. Tenten looked hopelessly at the baby in the stroller who was only a couple months old.

Most women would be content to watch over a sleeping baby. Even now, people who passed, mostly women, peered into the stroller and fawned over Shikadai. Unlike them, Tenten was sure that she didn't have a single maternal bone in her body. And unfortunately for her, the baby seemed to know it too. She could only look on with horror as he began to squirm, tossing off the blanket that had so carefully been wrapped around his small body.

The dread began to build within her as he pouted his lips and scrunched his eyes tight. Just when Tenten thought he was about to let out a loud shriek he opened them, those doe eyes, which seemed too large for his face, looked up expectantly. In a matter of seconds, it was clear that he was disappointed by the sight.

What the baby had expected to see, blonde hair and familiar green eyes, was quite different from the brown haired, brown eyed woman he got. Somehow, Tenten found herself trying to have a mental conversation with the boy. '_It's not my fault your mother left us_'. Unsurprisingly this didn't satisfy him and he began to whimper lowly.

"Oh gosh," she looked around helplessly, praying Temari was almost done.

She could see people looking at her. They probably thought she was his mother and an unfit one at that. Tears began to well in Shikadai's eyes.

"Oh no, don't cry. Please. Please!" Tenten tried to rock the stroller back and forth. She had heard somewhere that the rocking action would soothe him. However, it did nothing to calm him. In fact, it seemed to agitate him more. An elderly lady who was passing by looked at her sympathetically.

"There, there dear. The first couple of months are hard on every new mother," she smiled.

Tenten didn't know if she wanted to chew her out or ask her for some much needed advice.

This wasn't even her baby!

She tried to think back on all the times she had seen Ino, Sakura, Hinata and Karui console their children. Tenten couldn't use Temari as an example because, for whatever reason, Shikadai never seemed to cry. He was always sleeping whenever she saw him or lying contentedly in Temari's arms. Now she was kicking herself for not paying attention to what all her friends were talking about. She's sure something in their conversations could have helped her with this.

The poor little guy was bawling in earnest now.

"Um, perhaps try picking him up dear."

The old lady was now looking skeptically at her. Not only was this stressing her out but she actually felt ashamed. Even if everyone knew that she wasn't the mom, why did people just naturally assume that all women were good with babies? Tenten could feel people look their way as they walked by.

"Okay. Thanks, I'll try that," she managed through gritted teeth, feeling some satisfaction when the nosy woman walked away.

This was exactly why she was so apprehensive about babies. Crying, screeching, red faced, he was everything she was afraid of. With untrained hands, Tenten awkwardly scooped him up by the armpits. The whole position felt wrong.

Honestly, Tenten felt like she was about to start crying herself. The chime of bells at the store entrance was like a hallelujah chorus to her ears. And it couldn't have come any sooner for she was about to pass the child off to a stranger in the hopes of calming it down. Tenten was dubious that Temari would have approved of such a method.

"Sorry I took so – oh!"

The look on her face quickly shifted from apologetic to concerned. Tenten was only too happy to relinquish her hold on the wailing baby. She watched warily as Temari took her son, holding him close to her body, swaying back and forth while shushing him softly.

Tenten had a hard time believing that this was the woman who had been so merciless towards her in the chuunin exams. The same person who had almost broken her back was now tenderly coddling a baby. It was enough to almost make Tenten question if that had ever happened, if she had ever really been such a cruel warrior.

However, there was no way around it. Tenten had the scars to prove it and just because she was a mother didn't mean that Temari was content to let anyone forget just how talented of a shinobi she still was.

As if to prove just how incapable Tenten was, Shikadai had stopped crying no less than ten second after Temari took him.

"Really I'm sorry Tenten. I don't know what happened. It's almost impossible to wake him up from a nap."

She stared down the baby who was looking up from his mother's chest at her distrustfully. Great, she had managed to make the most easy-going baby upset.

"I'm pretty sure he just doesn't like me."

"Pfft," Temari protested, "He's a baby. He can't hate you. Try holding him again."

"No!"

She hoped she hadn't offended Temari by protesting so vehemently but she was not about to go through that again.

"Uh, it's just that – um – he looks so happy with you," she chuckled nervously. Although she said it to save herself, it was true. Tenten tried not to be too bothered by the sight of Shikadai drooling and happily playing with the ends of his mother's hair. How could someone so distraught minutes ago be this happy now?

Temari beamed at her son like only a mother could, seemingly proud to be raising a little hellion.


	50. Sandstorms and Snowstorms

"Sandstorms are way worse than snowstorms," Shikamaru drawled in his usual tone.

Temari found herself instantly irritated, as the comment was surely a direct jab against her homeland. She knew her reaction was silly, which was why she held her tongue. To her credit, she didn't even point out that it was because of a snowstorm that they were in their current predicament.

The two of them had been on their way to a Union assembly. Usually, both came from their respective villages and met up part way so that they could travel the remaining distance together.

The Land of Iron was notorious for its frigid temperatures and being in the mountains the weather was often was clear skies one minute and then dark threatening clouds that had appeared out of nowhere the next.

Luckily for them, they had stumbled upon a small abandoned shack that would, at the very least, provide some shelter from the storm.

"You know, sandstorms aren't that bad if a person actually knows what they're doing," she argued, rolling her bedding out onto the hard floor.

Temari eyed the shack with obvious distaste. Grass or snow would have cushioned the hard ground better, however sleeping outside was out of the question.

The shack did have a small fire pit, which was just about the only thing going for it.

"Quite a few people drown in the desert actually." Shikamaru looked up from where he was making the fire with a doubtful look.

"It's true!" she admonished. "Haven't you ever heard of a flash flood before? It figures, there's so many plants in Konoha, all the water just gets soaked up. Anyways, in Suna everything is so dry. Sometimes when there's a sandstorm rain and lightning come with it. Actually, they're pretty neat to watch when you're inside somewhere, but that's beside the point. When it actually does rain after the storm, the sand can't soak up any of the water. The water level can rise to about ten to thirty feet. We always have to send out rescue teams to save people from their flooded homes."

Why was she rambling like this, she thought? It was as if she had no filter.

He was looking at her oddly, no doubt wondering when she had become a human encyclopedia.

Only now could she admit that she was slightly nervous. Worse than that, she felt stupid for acting this way when he was obviously unaffected by their current position.

They were dating but when they went to the shinobi union they always stopped at inns along the way, always in separate rooms. And when they couldn't find an inn they were outside, which made it possible for them to place their makeshift beds at whatever distance they deemed acceptable.

Their current situation didn't allow for any of that.

The walls of this place only made it possible for two people to lie down and leave a little extra space around the edges. It wasn't as if they had never been so close before. Though not fans of PDA, it wasn't under heard of for him to reach for her hand or vice versa when they were walking in Konoha.

She couldn't explain why she felt this suffocating awkward air in here. If her body wasn't working so hard to warm itself up, her entire face would be flushed.

And this wasn't that big a deal! Yet, the nerves she was feeling now were akin to the moments leading up to their first kiss.

And she felt absolutely irrational for it.

Still, no matter how many times she told herself such thoughts had no place being in her mind, Temari was still hyper aware of him staring at her and the sound of the wind howling outside.

She noticed his trembling shoulders first. Shivering was her first thought, but soon enough she realized that he was smiling and then, suddenly, he was laughing.

There was nothing humorous about their situation to her.

"Are you...laughing at me?"

the words were meant to be delivered threateningly but she could only manage disbelief. Temari's incredulous tone was merely a result of her relief. If he were about to tease her for something than she could go back to getting disgruntled; everything could go back to normal.

"I'm not laughing...well; you have to admit that _was_ kind of funny."

With just about two steps he was right beside her. The proximity did nothing to relax her.

To say she was inexperienced with these kinds of feelings would be an understatement. She liked to be in control and there was little of that here.

For whatever reason, in the middle of this snowstorm, she felt like a thirteen year old girl, out of her league, daunted. The shuffle of fabric made her jump before she realized that Shikamaru was already getting under his blanket.

She should have realized that sleep would be the only thing on his mind after trudging through the snow.

He let out an uninhibited yawn as if to confirm her suspicions.

Annoyance began to bubble up within her in a new way. Her eye gave an involuntary twitch that he would have seen had his back not been turned to her.

What was wrong with him? Was she completely undesirable?

They were two people in a relationship that happened to be trapped in a very cramped space. Wasn't there a certain rule as to how people were supposed to react in this sort of situation?

Maybe she had been listening to Matsuri and Yukata too long or maybe there really was something wrong with her.

Temari could only sigh in frustration as she untied her hair and followed his lead, lying down and hoping that sleep would come quickly.

* * *

He heard her sigh behind him but couldn't bring himself to turn around.

Right now, his hands were tightly folded together to stop any rash actions. It had been close, but he'd managed to avoid reaching out towards her.

It was her fault. Well, their situation wasn't her fault, neither were his hormones, but she really did seem clueless as to how her actions affected him. Even before they took shelter here, his mind was already racing with all the implications of being stuck in such a place.

As if that wasn't enough, Temari had wasted no time in completely stripping all her out layers of clothing. It was the smart thing to do if she didn't want to catch a cold.

But it seriously had not helped his thought process.

Quickly, he had busied himself making a fire. Anything to take his overactive mind off of her was welcomed at that point.

Truthfully, he had hardly been registering the idle conversation they had been carrying until it sounded like he had offended her in some way. He had been expecting a rant, not the lesson on dessert weather he had actually gotten.

She was slightly out of breath by the end of it and he had found himself staring out of shock.

It had been one of those moments where all he really could do was look. Her eyes always held so much passion. Even when she was at a standstill, they were much more emotive than his. The flickering of the fire cast shadows across her face.

And he's positive that, had she smiled, it would have unwound the threads of his tightly knitted control.

What a troublesome situation, he thought.

For all the times he had said women were nothing but a pain, for every time he had said he couldn't allow a girl to show him up, the universe had decided to contradict him with her existence.

Temari wasn't like the women he had based his biased doctrine on; silly, flippant and eager to be the center of attention. She was a take-charge kind of person, self-confident, aggressive, critical and extremely talented in devising plans of action.

In order to penetrate that indomitable wall she had built around herself, her head, before her heart must be persuaded.

It was the unexpected discovery that such a woman, one who valued logic and strategy almost as much as himself, existed that had intrigued him in the beginning.

And after he started the peal back the layers of her personality the more absorbed he became.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

There was something oddly charming about seeing someone who was usually so in control at a loss for words.

He had been just as juvenile as the girls he had condemned, staring at her as if she were sun or stars or some other overly sappy thing.

It had been his own foolishness that had amused him so much, that coupled with his nerves had been enough to set him off into a nonsensical fit of laughter.

Temari hadn't seemed too insulted and actually flashed him a teasing grin.

Before he could even process what was happening, his limbs had moved him towards her.

While Temari did have many redeemable personality traits, the fact that she was also undeniably attractive couldn't go without saying. Not that he wanted other men looking at her, but any one that didn't was blind. In a moment of remarkable self control, Shikamaru had managed to change his direction and confine himself to his makeshift bed at the last moment.

Any man would have applauded him for his efforts...or they would have called him an idiot.

Frankly, he didn't know which one he would side with.

After several minutes of dispelling any impure thoughts from his mind, he was finally able relieve the tension in his body.

However, just as he was about to relinquish his consciousness to sleep, a set of icy toes pressed into his calf.

Noble intentions be damned, he thought! If this was how she wanted to play it, fine by him.

He flipped over, fully intent on making her realize the consequences of her actions. But instead of being met with sly eyes, all he found was a peaceful face. Though she wasn't snoring, it was plain to see that she hadn't been taunting him and really was asleep.

As her arms wrapped around his torso, he found himself beseeching some higher power to explain what he had done to deserve such divine punishment.

Really, there was only one acceptable course of action here which was to remain completely motionless and urge his mind to escape to another place where this was not happening.

Temari had no idea what she was doing, completely defenceless.

Any move he made now would not only weigh in his conscious but, most likely, earn him a beating.

So no matter how many times she mumbled something in her sleep that sounded suspiciously like his name or how she pressed herself into him to absorb some warmth, he'd remain strong. The only thing he permitted himself to do was wrap one arm around her shoulders.

She honestly was the most troublesome women he had ever met.

* * *

Temari awoke to the crackle and pop of the last dying embers in the fire.

It was a lot warmer than last night, but somehow she felt constricted.

The first thing her disorientated mind deducted was that she must have gotten tangled in her sheets. To free herself, she moved her legs and was surprised when she was met with a low grumbling. Instantly, her eyes shot open.

If she had been anyone else, she might have screamed. But, bringing attention to herself right now was the last thing she wanted, especially since she seemed to be the one at fault.

Temari wracked her brain, trying to remember how this had happened.

After all, she was the one gracelessly draped on top of him. Though his arms fell limply at his sides, hers were wound tight around him.

So far her mind could only come up with two plans of action, try to disentangle herself and risk waking him up or pretend to be asleep and let him deal with their current situation however he may. The likelihood of her being able to pull away without waking him was very low.

However, she highly doubted that she would be able to fake sleep, especially since he would surely feel her rapid heartbeat as they lay chest to chest.

There was really no way to get out of this without embarrassing herself, was there?

A soft tug on her hair wrenched her from those musings.

Some part of her soul left her body in fright at the unexpectedness of the action and her face blanched at the thought of him being awake this entire time.

The continual pulling of her pigtails erased any doubt that he had ever been asleep.

"Cut it out! If you're awake just say so normally," she lectured, embarrassment barely concealed in her tone.

If he was going to pass this off as no big deal then she would as well.

After a couple of seconds, Temari thought that maybe hoisting herself up hadn't been the best idea. Now she was hovering precariously over him, forcing herself to meet his impassive gaze. It was discomforting that she always seemed to be the only one affected by things like this.

Though, if she really wanted to, she's positive that she could create an expression on his face that no one had ever seen, but she wasn't that desperate yet.

"Heavy."

"Excuse me?" She may have just woken up but she had no difficulty activating her famed glare. At least a scared looking Shikamaru was better than a bored one.

"Beautiful?"

"Nice recovery." She should really get off of him; they're already late in getting to the Shinobi Union. '_But it's so cold outside the blankets_.' What was she even thinking? She was a ninja of the Sand.

She should be used to subzero temperatures.

With much effort, Temari fought and won over her traitorous body. The cloak she had been wearing earlier was now completely dry, as it had been lying beside the fire all night. She wasted no time in putting it on. Shikamaru had pulled the blanket up so that only his eyes were visible.

Even then, she could easily tell that he was discontented.

"The day isn't going to wait for you."

He mumbled something from under the covers and Temari rolled her eyes. It was moments like this where she didn't have any problem believing the age gap between them.

"And neither am I, so get up." She was half tempted to step on his stomach but that probably wouldn't move him. "How are we going to explain why we're so late to everyone, hmm?"

"I was gonna say I slept with you and lost track of time."

"Idiot, why would you word it like that?" She threw the closest thing she could at him which happened to be his cloak. He couldn't have chosen another set of words to make her blush any harder. "You shouldn't say things that can be so easily misinterpreted. Besides, all of our conversation at the union are recorded and sent to the Kage's. You'd be dead before the next morning."

"Your brothers aren't that fast."

"Who said they'd be the ones doing it?" she fired back.

Temari was certain that, should he say something like that, she would have enough rage to severely make him regret it.

He had that infuriating smirk on his face and she suddenly realized, her brows furrowed, he was just stalling her.

She might have wandered into the trap but she was smart enough to know that no matter what she said he wouldn't move. Silently, she gathered all her things together and steeled herself for the icy air outside. Ironically, action would be the one thing to rouse him.

"See ya," she called over her shoulder and started on the trek towards the union.

She counted her footsteps once she went outside and only got to fifteen before she heard him come after her, grumbling all the way.

"You're really not a morning person, huh?"

Though he was on his feet, he still looked half asleep. A part of her felt a little bad for dragging him out into the cold but she couldn't stand to be in there a second longer.

He stared at her from under his scarf, which had been bundled up to cover half his face, not amused.

"Were you comfortable last night?" He was goading her into yelling at him but somehow, though she was sort of embarrassed, she was anything but apologetic. Because, yes, she had been more than comfortable last night and she would do it again.

"Absolutely," she smiled widely, satisfied that she hadn't taken the bait and even more pleased that finally he was at a loss for words, ears tinged pink and not because of the cold.


	51. Concerned Parents

A heavy fog lay over his consciousness; it was the only way he could think to explain his current state of mind.

Every bone in his body felt heavier. With his muddled thoughts, he couldn't remember where he was or how long he had been asleep; he could definitely feel a pain in his stomach.

There were many odd sounds here, people talking, beeping, and a clock ticking somewhere. The amount of effort it took just to open his eyes surprised him.

Though his vision was distorted, he could make out a figure leaning over him.

His first thought was that it was an enemy ninja.

Had he been able to, he would have jumped back but his body was lead.

"You're awake," the figure's relieved voice exclaimed.

A cool hand brushed his hair, which had been let down, off his forehead. He recognized her voice before his vision cleared and he saw his mother.

The first thing he noticed was that she was that she was wearing her night clothes.

And exhaustion was plain on her face.

"Mom?" he croaked.

It sounded like he hadn't spoken in days. It didn't take long for his genius mind to decipher that he was in the hospital. There were two tubes suspended from a stand by his bed side, feeding him some kind of saline solution.

"You were fighting during your mission," his mom explained, "and a civilian child got in the way, when you tried to rescue them you got caught in the crossfire. You took a kunai to the stomach and then your appendix got inflamed and the doctor had to remove it."

Well, now he knew why his stomach felt so sore. The memories had started to return to him. Somehow, he felt embarrassed. He was about to take the chuunin exams and he really shouldn't have allowed something like this happen.

As the lead strategist for his team he should have prepared for this outcome. Not only that but he had visibly frightened his mother.

"What time is it?"

He knew there was a clock on the wall but his eyes didn't have the strength to focus in on the small numbers.

"Three in the morning," she replied. No wonder he felt so tired.

His dad must still be working. Even if he had been asleep at home, despite his busy schedule, his mom would have dragged her with him.

"I called your father just as you were waking up. He's on his way."

Shikadai was slightly unnerved by his mom's uncanny ability to follow his train of thought.

"You should have heard him. I think he may have fallen out of his chair." He felt pity for his father.

His mom was never one to let a moment to tease slip away, especially when it concerned him. The two of them perked up when they heard the thumping of footsteps down the hall.

"Temari!"

Shikamaru's shoes actually squeaked against the clean hospital floors as he made a sharp turn into the doorway of his son's room. Obviously, he ran the entire way here.

"Is he okay? You should have called me when you first found out! Oh...you're awake."

The man in the doorway was out of breath and, frankly, looking a bit frazzled; completely different from how his father usually appeared. Neither of his parents was overly protective, he wouldn't be a ninja if they were.

But it didn't escape Shikadai that he was their only child and, as such, was the recipient of everything; their pride, disappointment, love and frustration.

"What happened?" his father went right back to adorning his usual impassive expression.

"It's nothing."

"He had his appendix removed."

He and his mother voiced at the same time. His father lifted an eyebrow and looked like he wanted to find Shikadai's medical record to figure out who was telling the truth.

"Really, Temari," his dad sighed, taking his mother's side as usual, "you could have been a little less vague over the phone. I thought our son was on his death bed."

"I would have," she huffed, upset at being accused, "if you hadn't hung up so fast."

"It looks like you were in just as much of a rush yourself," his father muttered. Mom's attire hadn't escaped him either.

Choosing to ignore the comment, his mother turned towards him.

"How do you feel Shikadai? Are you in pain or hungry? I can find a nurse if you want." Both of their eyes were on him, reflecting concern and a desire to jump to action should he need anything.

"Just tired," it was late after all and the surgery had taken all of his energy. The prospect of being stuck in the hospital tomorrow didn't give him any more reason to feel particularly lively either. It was going to be a real drag, being stuck in here without any games to entertain him.

"Okay, go to sleep then."

If there was one thing Shikadai never had to wait to be told to do, it was sleep. He closed his eyes intent on drifting off, though he was still listening. There was the sound of a chair being pulled over next to where his mother sat.

"You should go home," his mother whispered, "I'll stay."

After that, there was a long pause. He imagined that they were speaking through their eyes. They did that sometimes, like some sort of secret parent code. He was working on it, but sometimes he still had a difficult time deciphering what they were conveying to each other through their looks and glances.

"I'm already here," his father reasoned quietly.

And, just like that, Shikadai knew that that was the end of the discussion. For, while he couldn't read minds, he was more than capable of distinguishing his parent's tone of voice. The words his father had said were not up for argument.

Mom might not be happy about dad spending his few hours of rest here but she could understand why he wanted to stay. And, even if his father wasn't worried about him, he wouldn't let his mother watch over him by herself.

As Shikadai was truly drifting off, he thought he heard his mother say something that sounded like 'stubborn'. He would roll his eyes if they were open. If anybody was stubborn in their family it was mom. Just for a second, he couldn't resist, even if sleep was calling to him, he cracked an eye open.

The two of them had their chairs pulled up next to his bedside. Despite disagreeing moments ago, his mother's head rested on his father's shoulder and his head atop of hers.

Their eyes were closed and Shikadai imagined that it wouldn't be long before his dad was completely passed out.

Even if he was slightly embarrassed by being rendered useless from something so small and that he was beginning to feel too old to have his parents here, their presence comforted him.


	52. Exotic

Temari couldn't help but feel that everyone's eyes were on her.

Though it was somewhat of a formal event, she wasn't underdressed. If anything, the dress she wore was slightly too elegant for this type of thing.

She should have listened to Shikamaru; it was his clan after all.

Everyone one here was dressed much more casually than anyone at any tribe gathering she had been to in Suna.

No, it wasn't her dress, which was more than modest and midnight blue, that was gaining her the unwanted attention but rather herself in general.

At any other time she may have laughed. Temari couldn't quite think of anywhere else where she had been surrounded by so many similar looking people.

There was a sea of dark spiky hair all around.

Even the children, who should really be running around and getting into mischief, were sitting around with disinterested looks. Naturally, she stuck out like a sore thumb.

One woman had even gone as far as to tell her she looked exotic.

"I thought the Naras were allowed to marry outside of the clan," she murmured to her fiancé. Temari had thought that the family she was marrying into was different from the Hyuuga or other exclusive clans which were very intent on keeping their techniques secret. Now that she was standing here, she wasn't so sure.

From what she could see, even the wives all seemed to have different variations of black and brown hair. The whole experience made her wish that her own hair wasn't such a bright shade of blonde.

"Hmm," Shikamaru had been spacing out until now; he wasn't really one for these types of events either.

Though, he'd have to get used to it as he would be instated as clan leader in a matter of days.

"We are," he affirmed to Temari.

Looking at his clan from her point of view, he could see why she may be second guessing the Nara's marital practices. Similar to the Hyuuga, it wasn't all that difficult to pick a member of their clan out from a crowd.

But unlike Konoha's most prestigious clan, this was just due to a similar preference in partners, not because their clan mandated everyone had to marry a Nara.

"So you're just the strange one then," she stated point blank.

The evidence was right in front of their eyes so he couldn't disagree with her. Temari wasn't anything like the other dark haired, dark eyed women in the room.

It was only expected that his clan would be curious about their imminent new member who was not just unlike them in appearance but from a completely different land.

Shikamaru realized that she wasn't completely comfortable being the center of so much attention. It was obvious in the way that she had stood no more than a foot from him throughout the entire evening. This was her first time being introduced to the clan as a whole.

Even though that wasn't the reason for this meeting, everyone knew that their future clan leader's fiancée was the main attraction tonight.

Temari had no problem being up front and center on the battlefield or in a political debate. Here, she was out of her element.

Shikamaru wouldn't say it aloud but he sort of liked that she stood out in the crowd. And not just for the added convenience that it was easier to locate her.

He wasn't one to tout his intelligence, but he could admit to being the smartest member of his clan and he didn't think that any of them would be able to grasp just how exceptional Temari was without her looking as foreign as she did.

He didn't think it was so much that his taste in women was outside that of his clan's.

He wasn't partial to blond hair, unless it was hers. Green eyes, he could take them or leave them but he had committed Temari's to memory.

As long as she still had her personality and temperament, she could be the plainest looking woman and he would still be engaged to her.

He may also be just the tiniest bit proud to show her off in a sense.

She was beautiful.

None of it was about invoking envy in anyone else, though he wouldn't doubt that some of the younger single men in the clan were feeling quite bitter right now. Shikamaru actually felt incredibly humbled to be by her side.

All of his pride was for her.

"Not you too," she whined. "Stop staring!"

Temari was starting to become self conscious about the way his relatives were smiling smugly at the pair of them. His eyes focused in on her face unsettled her in a way that was not necessarily unpleasant which annoyed her. She really didn't want anyone thinking that something improper was going on; a clan meeting was really not the place for that.

"I can send them all home if you want."

"Abusing the power of your title already?" she questioned tauntingly to mask her interest.

She couldn't lie and say that the offer was not tempting, extremely tempting.

"If they're going to saddle me with all this responsibility, I should get to have some fun out of it."

Before Temari had a chance to stop him, he was already calling out to for everyone to leave. She would have yelled at him for it, if he hadn't turned his eyes on her again. Except, they were narrowed now and she somehow felt like prey being stalked.

"Shikamaru," she started warily and backed up a little.

Her hesitance did nothing to deter him in the slightest and, eventually, she had the palms of her hands pressed against his chest and her head turned to the side to avoid him.

"Wha-What's wrong with you?" she stammered nervously. "People are still here. Stop it," she hissed quietly.

"Hn, they're just family," he remarked lightly, trying to get her to face him.

The task proved to be more difficult than he would have liked as Temari was more than embarrassed by this display of affection. He was a little surprised by how far she was able to arch her back in an attempt to escape.

The last stragglers from the meeting were almost out the door now, not that he cared much.

"Shikamaru," she protested, though not as compellingly.

"Temari," he smirked, drawing out the last syllable of her name.

And the last thing she thinks is 'damn him' because this whole situation is completely not like her. Yet, somehow, the traitorous part of her mind is winning. The worst part was he didn't even have to try that hard to wear down her resolve.

"You're the worst," she muttered before finally caving in.

How she ever fell for such a man she'll never wholly understand but that doesn't matter because she would never change it for the world. She's very glad they no longer have an audience because the way he's kissing her is certainly something that shouldn't be seen by anyone else. It's not indecent but there's definitely passion and a large amount of gentleness on his part that makes her heart hammer wildly.

Suddenly an old memory flickers in the forefront of her mind of a namesake she once held long ago. Temari remembers always hating it. The people who addressed her by that name were always fake, never actually on her side.

She despised being called _princess Temari. _

Lady Temari had a much better ring to it, commanded more authority. But right here and now, the way he held her with fragility and firmness all at once made her feel like she was a princess and not the gritty cynical woman most people knew her to be.

No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that she resented being treated like a delicate flower, she could never be convinced when it came to him.

It was foreign and strange to her but then again their relationship still seemed so surreal, too good to actually be true.

Yet here they were, in a home that would be their own in a matter of weeks. And she was allowing herself to be pressed up against a wall, completely defenceless, hair let down. When had she become the woman who threw social etiquette out the window for a chance to fool around with her fiancée?

Her train of thought was broken when she felt his lips detach from hers.

"What are you thinking about, troublesome woman?"

Temari looked a little guilty at being caught for her straying mind. Shikamaru can't blame her. After all, he had been rather forward and a bit forceful with his advances. Regardless of receiving a wounded ego, if she wanted to stop he would.

"Um...uh," Temari was unusually at a loss for words. The tinge of pink that was starting to appear on the tips of her ears intrigued him more.

"You."

The word was so quiet that he second guessed himself for a moment. He blinks twice before resting his head on her shoulder, letting out a groan of frustration and happiness. It should really be a sin for her to look so shy.

However, Shikamaru isn't allowed to reflect upon this momentary lapse in character as Temari seems to return to her usual self. She pulls the elastic out from his hair and lifts his chin to initiate another kiss.

He begins to let his mind wander in thought as his body is occupied. Other guys always seemed to complain about being 'tied down'. If this was what married life was going to be like for them, Shikamaru was half kicking himself that he didn't propose sooner.

There was nothing troublesome about this.

That is, nothing was troublesome until a familiar someone yanks the front door open without knocking.

"I forgot my coat on the way out," Yoshino announced before realizing what she had walked in on, an arrangement that was definitely not suitable for company.

The three inhabitants of the room stare at each other blankly.

Yoshino quickly takes note of how the two of them are both trying to catch their breath discreetly, how their hair is down and that the collar of Temari's shirt has been pulled slightly to reveal some of the girl's shoulder.

The longer the older woman stares, the redder the faces of her son and soon to be daughter become.

Temari can't believe that they actually forgot to lock the door.

While, Shikamaru could only focus on the fact his mother, of all people, had caught them in a heated lip-lock. Yoshino smiled, grabbing her jacket.

"Don't mind me," she said with amusement clear in her voice.

In record time she had made it back to the door.

"Have fun," she called out over her shoulder before disappearing. The door slammed shut, startling the two of them out of their shock.

Temari felt embarrassment transform into laughter and once she starting giggling she couldn't stop.

Soon enough, Shikamaru joined in and any discomfort was erased as the two smiled foolishly at each other.


	53. Happiness

Shikamaru let out a long held sigh as he brushed the hand of his fiancée. 'Temari, what am I going to do with you?' he thought.

From the moment he heard about it, Shikamaru had known that Gaara's marriage meeting was suspicious and would probably end badly. Though everyone was able to part on relatively good terms and the damage was minimal, not everyone had escaped unscathed.

Shikamaru knew, probably more so than anyone else, that Temari was headstrong. And often she was too reckless with her health for his comfort.

However, he never could have imagined that she would purposely dislocate her shoulder in a fight. She had even gone as far as setting off explosions close to her person in order to escape.

If only he had revealed himself sooner, none of this would have happened. It was lucky that he had managed to catch her before she fell and carried her to the hospital.

Their meeting was short lived as she requested he go help Gaara instead.

He had done so but a small part of his mind remained in the hospital with her. And, when he returned, she was not pleased at all. The medic ninjas were flustered, trying to figure out what to do with his unreasonable fiancée. Temari really thought she was improving the situation by trying not to be a bother.

In the short time he had stood there, he quickly lost count of how many times she had said things like, _"I can do that myself"_ or _"I'm well enough to leave."_ She had all but bullied the hospital staff into releasing her, though under the condition that she rest at home. And he was going to hold her to the promise she made the doctor.

After much complaining, persuading and bribing, he had finally gotten her to rest.

His fingers traced over her hands and up her arm, frowning as he felt the bandages that wrapped around her like a second skin. After helping Gaara, he had rushed back to her side the second he could. Shikamaru didn't know if it was the better lighting in the hospital or the fact that he no longer had as many things to think about but, in that moment, he had his first real chance to look at her.

And he was angry. He might still be a little now. Originally, he was going to say something about it to her, but that was before Gaara had said something that he was still mulling over.

"_I'm glad you're here. Temari is happy and she used to think she didn't deserve that." _

For the most part, it was easy to tell what Temari was thinking by her expressions. Emotionally, she was a maze. Every now and then she would slip and reveal small insecurities, like the time she came to Konoha for Naruto's wedding.

She had actually asked him if it was '_alright if it were her_'.

In what world would she ever not be worthy of him? If anything, it should be the other way around. Usually, he felt like he lost all his smarts around her. He should be the one feeling unworthy. And now there was this new curve ball.

How could she not deserve to be happy? Temari had a difficult time letting go of guilt, forgiving herself. Years ago, he never would have imagined that the hardened and willful girl had such a side to her. Underneath layers of practiced impassiveness she was just as sensitive as everyone else, a fact she did not welcome and it somehow made her even more endearing to him. He didn't know how to convey all of that to her.

"Ouch," he was surprised by Temari's voice.

His hand had wandered its way towards her injured shoulder without him realizing and he wanted to hit himself.

"Sorry!"

It couldn't have been even half an hour since she had let her eyes close.

"Please, go back to sleep." Now that she was up he could tell that she was feeling sore. It had been a while since he had felt this stupid. He helped her sit up and was struck by a thought. "Are you happy?" Her large eyes stared into his questioningly.

"What? I don't understand," she yawned, "I'm stuck in bed so I wouldn't quite use the word 'happy'."

He supposed the question was a little vague. Now he regretted even bringing this up. But he needed to know what she was feeling. He needed to erase any guilt she felt because, whether she realized it or not, she deserved to be happy.

And he would be the last person to get in the way of that.

"Are you alright with the way things are now?" Very soon she would be leaving Suna to stay in Konoha permanently. Though she had said on many occasions that she was okay with it, some little nagging part in his mind couldn't quite give up the thought that maybe she wasn't completely telling the truth. Temari still looked a little disoriented as she processed his question.

"I mean," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously; "do you still want to get married?"

Shikamaru watched her perplexed expression quickly fall from her face and saw hurt flash in her eyes for the briefest second before it was replaced by anger, "you don't want to? It's a little late to be changing your mind Nara!"

He flinched at the use of his last name. Oddly enough he had gotten used to her calling him cry-baby and Shikamaru. Whenever she called him by his last name he knew she was truly angry.

"Eh? No! That's not what I meant at all!"

What a drag. She was usually so good at interpreting what he meant. Misunderstandings were rare between them.

"That came out all wrong. What I meant was...I don't really know how to say...um," Shikamaru was desperately searching his brain for an answer. Temari was glaring at him. "You're going to miss your brothers and Suna –

"How many times do I have to tell you?" she groaned. "I've made my decision."

"I know what you've said but what about five or ten years from now? You'll feel guilty about moving away from your brothers and maybe you'll come to feel resentful towards me for taking you away." He felt her squeeze his hand and he stopped rambling.

"You're lucky my arm is injured and this is the most I can do. Shikamaru," her voice was stern, "don't put words in my mouth. No one is making me do anything, okay? Not the council, not politics nor my brothers had any influence on my deciding to move. I chose this because I wanted it." She huffed in frustration before throwing her quilt off.

"Hey, you're not supposed to get up!"

Temari shot him an annoyed look. She repositioned herself to sit on the edge of the bed across from where he sat in a chair, their knees touching.

"You spoke with Gaara didn't you?" She stated it more like a fact than a question. Her voice was monotone and he didn't know exactly how she felt about her brother disclosing such information about her. "At one time I felt guilty about enjoying myself. Now, I guess I just got tired of always putting everything and everyone in front."

Her expression was grim before she chuckled humorlessly, "I sound so selfish."

Being extra mindful of her shoulder he pulled her in to a hug. Seeing her with such a face pulled at his heart strings. "Tch, ridiculous, that doesn't sound selfish at all. But even if you were too be that's okay. I want you to be selfish with me." He could feel her heart beat harder and her good hand clench the fabric of his shirt.

"Lines like that don't really suit you."

"Get used to it."

Shikamaru knew that Temari would rarely take him up on that offer, if at all. She had missed out on so many normal childhood experiences, growing up faster than anyone he knew in Konoha. Nothing in her life had ever been easy.

And she deserved so much more than she felt she did. Temari didn't allow other people to look after her unless it was him and he'd have to fight for those few and far between opportunities. Here and now, anyone would be able to see just how small and fragile she could be.

"You...," she spoke timidly, "you're sure you're not second guessing?"

Again, he felt instantly ashamed. Shikamaru was primarily asking about the timing of the whole thing. For Temari, he thought that if they pushed the date forwards the event, especially after what had just happened with Gaara, would become less stressful.

It was expected that their wedding would be attended by many political figures, not quite like the close knit ceremony that the two of them had wanted. Shikamaru had jumped through all the hoops to set up a quieter reception just for friends and family.

"Not a chance," he wanted to erase the cautionary look from her face.

"No running away the day of?"

"Never," he breathed into her hair, which still smelled a bit like smoke.

Once again, he managed to persuade Temari to rest. He slid under the covers on the other side; her condition for sleeping. Shikamaru could already feel the exhaustion in his own body after such a stressful day. Temari soon began to inhale and exhale deeply.

He wouldn't voice it, for fear of waking her up, but being next to her like this relaxed him as well.


	54. Santa Claus

Temari was surprised when she saw Shikadai sitting at the kitchen table.

It was almost bedtime for him so he was already in his pajamas, which were made out of a fleecy fabric due to the cold.

His little legs dangled from the chair, not able to reach the ground yet. He had a piece of paper out in front of him. It was only recently that she had begun teaching him how to write his own name. As far as Temari was aware, it was the only thing Shikadai knew how to write, which may explain why the paper was blank.

"What are you doing?" She pulled up a chair next to him.

Her son had a look of total concentration on his face. His brows were pulled together and his bottom lip was sucked into his mouth. For being only six years old, that type of expression had no business being there.

When he turned to look at her, Temari started to wonder if something was actually wrong.

"I wanna write to Santa mommy but I can't."

He held out the pen to her, silently asking her to do it for him. Temari couldn't help but smile at how cute he was. She ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Okay, what should mom write?"

"Umm...," Shikadai thought for a couple seconds before inspiration struck, "dear Santa!" She penned down his words.

"What do wish for from Santa?"

"Mooom," he looked at her with a little too much sass for her liking, "I have to ask Santa something first."

This took Temari by surprise as she couldn't imagine what her son could possibly have to ask. She had assumed that Shikadai would not have the patience to have her write out anything but his requests.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's been a long time since mom's written a letter to Santa, you know?"

"Okay," Shikadai huffed and started again, "Dear Santa, my name is Shikadai Nara."

He looked up towards the ceiling while he thought of his next words.

"How are you able to get down the chimney? I tried to get up the chimney once," Temari balked at her son's confession. She wanted to comment but was afraid that he would stop sharing his story should she interrupt. "I couldn't do it. And there are so many houses in Konoha. How can you go down the chimney of _all_," he exaggerated the word as if to show just how many people were in Konoha, "the kid's houses in one night? Do you read all the letters or do the elves do it for you? And how are you able to eat all of the cookies?"

By now, Temari was trying very hard to remain impassive. A smirk was threatening the corners of her mouth. She would definitely be leaving the writing of the return letter to Shikamaru. It was his genes that made their kid so inquisitive after all.

"Also, Santa, how do you get your reindeer to fly? We have a lot of deer but they don't do anything. They just smell funny," Shikadai scrunched his nose, reliving a memory.

"Okay Shikadai, I think that might be enough questions for Santa. He has to read everyone else's letters too."

Her son nodded before revealing what he wished for Christmas. Naturally, Temari had already guessed all of the things he would say. Just as she was satisfied with the letter, Shikadai asked one last question.

"Mommy, is Santa really real?"

Temari felt her mind go blank as she tried to search for a quick answer. Even though Shikadai had been asking all these questions, he had doubts the whole time? Her son was looking up at her with large green doe eyes.

"Why would you say that, Shikadai?"

"Inojin said he wasn't."

"And who told him that?" Temari couldn't imagine where anyone that age would hear such a thing.

Perhaps she was being a bit protective, but six still seemed so young. Why ruin the magic of Christmas for a child?

"His dad said so."

She let go of a breath she hadn't even known she was holding. After all these years, Sai was still clueless about some things. Temari had certainly never experienced a Christmas with presents, carols and family when she was younger – just like Sai – but all those things were something she wanted for Shikadai. And for as long as he would still believe in them, she would continue playing the part.

"Your uncle Sai says silly things sometimes."

Ino would be throwing a fit. Temari could just imagine the look on her face when she realized that Inojin no longer believed.

"It's just like what you said Shikadai. It would be impossible for any regular person to deliver all those presents. It's definitely magic."

"Do you believe in Santa?" Her son's face had lit up like the tree in their living room.

"Of course I do," she scooped him up from the chair.

By now, it was past his bedtime. Whatever conversation they would have, it would be better for Shikadai to be in bed. The last thing she wanted was to get him all riled up.

It was almost humorous how quickly her son realized her plan. The idea of sleeping by anyone's schedule, other than his own, made him pout.

"It's not bedtime yet," he protested when Temari tried to tuck him in under the covers. However, Shikadai was a creature of habit and it was very clear from the way his eyes were at half mast that he needed sleep.

"I'm not sleepy," he argued, futilely.

"Mhmm," Temari made sure that he was settled in his bed and lying down. "All good boys are in bed by now. You don't want to be on Santa's naughty list do you?" He hurriedly shook his head and she almost felt bad for using a fear tactic. But the two of them were both in need of sleep. "

That's my boy," she pressed a kiss to his forehead before leaving him to dreams that would surely revolve around Christmas.


	55. Chuunin

Shikadai was surprised by the small box in front of his plate when he sat down for dinner.

He also noticed that the meal his mother had prepared was one of his favourites, vegetable soup with the leeks taken out. Usually his mom would keep them in and he would have to pick out the leeks without her noticing. Tonight, the disgusting vegetable was nowhere to be seen, much to his delight.

Something must be up; his favourite food, some sort of present. Shikadai hoped that, whatever the news was, it wasn't too horrible.

His parents had never been the bribing type but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was exactly what was happening.

He pulled out his chair to sit at the table, all the while analyzing their faces. At the same time, he ran through his memory of the past few days. In his opinion, the past week had been nothing but mayhem.

It wasn't every year that the chuunin exams were infiltrated by god-like villains.

The damage to the arena had been extensive and, as a result, both of his parents had been hardly present since then.

Shikadai himself had been sent out on several easy missions to help rebuild the arena. Perhaps this was an apology for not being able to spend time together? He noticed the corner of his mother's mouth twitch upwards as she served him.

"If you think too hard, you'll end up giving yourself a headache," she teased.

He instinctively scowled, a little self-conscious at being caught in such intense contemplation. More so than that, it was about being called out and not having a solution to his question. Shikadai took one sip of the soup, enjoying the taste, before questioning the two of them.

"What's all this about?"

It may have been a bit crass, but he was never one to beat around the bush. This actually managed to get a grin out of his dad while his mom flashed him a disapproving look.

His father always said that his blunt tongue was a product of his mother's genes.

"Well, it's not every day you pass the chuunin exams, is it?" Shikadai blinked his eyes owlishly at his father's words.

"We would have done something earlier but all us of were so busy," his mom chimed in.

He hadn't honestly given his graduation status too much thought. It was hard for him decide exactly how he felt about it all, especially his match against Boruto. He had trained hard with his parents before the exams. But even so, Shikadai had been okay with the prospect of losing, heck; he had even forfeited the match.

There were only so many moves and countermoves one could make. Shikadai had thought the odds of winning had been in his favor from the beginning.

But when Boruto had managed to make so many clones, Shikadai had felt shame for underestimating an opponent and his friend.

Too make matters more complicated, when the seventh had came down into the arena and revoked Boruto's victory Shikadai had felt a whole new emotion. Of course, the two of them were still friends. And he could understand why Boruto had cheated.

Nevertheless, as much as shinobi weren't supposed to let their emotions control them, Shikadai had felt hurt. Although Boruto had viewed the examinations solely as a tactic to catch his father's attention, Shikadai couldn't help but feel disrespected.

If Boruto hadn't used those scrolls, Shikadai probably could have beaten him. But who was to say? The way he had been promoted to chuunin didn't sit well with him.

The victory didn't feel validated.

"Yeah, I guess." He looked down into his bowl of soup, as if its contents would somehow reveal the answers.

It wasn't very fair of him to react like this when his parents had made an effort to celebrate his success.

"Don't be so hard on yourself."

His mother had seen right through him. She couldn't hide the fact that she was upset, it was written all over her face. Out of everyone, his mom would be able to relate to this scenario the most. He had heard the story of his parents' meeting at their own chuunin exams, years ago.

In fact, he had heard it multiple times.

But back then, neither knew the other so it wasn't the same as him and Boruto. Shikadai didn't want her to feel sorry for him so supposes he could at least make an effort to seem happy.

"Shikadai," the stern tone of his father's usually placid voice instantly caught his attention. "The fight was fair."

His old man tended to speak in riddles so it told Shikadai a lot that he was being so direct.

His parents wouldn't give him credit if they felt it wasn't due. They weren't the type to sugar coat anything, even for their own kid.

With that in mind, Shikadai starts warming up to the idea of celebrating. Now that he had forced those invasive thoughts from his mind, he can admit to actually being quite curious about what was in the box.

"Your uncles got you something." His mom pointed towards the gift.

The box itself wasn't very heavy Shikadai realizes when he picks it up. The wrapping is well done and he imagines that uncle Gaara must have done it. Uncle Kankuro will work for hours on puppets but had little patience for any other craft.

Nevertheless, he tears the wrapping and opens the lid. He pulls the chain, of what looks to be a pendent. Shikadai is not familiar with the symbol. From across the table, his parents lean in to get a better look. The metal work of the pendent is quite intricate. He didn't even want to image all the work that went into this.

"Let me get a closer look," his mom requests. She has a look of deep contemplation as he passes the mysterious gift over. "Mhm," she nods, "I've definitely seen this before."

"What is it?" His dad asks before he has a chance to. Shikadai can tell right away that it irks his father to know that mom can recognize the symbol while he cannot.

"Well, I've only ever seen it in old scrolls and once in a book," her voice tapers off as she finishes the thought in her mind.

"Temari," his dad sighs wearily, "are you going to tell us or not?" Mom shoots him a look devoid of amusement before continuing.

"It's the crest of the Kazekage clan."

Shikadai blinks in surprise. He hadn't even known that such a thing existed. He hadn't thought that his mother had a last name before marrying his father much less an entire clan.

It wasn't very often that he thought of himself in relation to Sunagakure or how he fit into his mother's family history. To be fair, he hadn't been told that much. When he tried to broach the subject his parents always found a way to deflect the conversation.

Shikadai didn't appreciate not being trusted with such knowledge but he was also lazy. So, he focused on what was available to him; the Nara.

He was so used to being called Shikamaru's kid or the Nara's prodigy.

After so many years with barely a mention of the other side of his heritage, it wasn't too hard to accept his lack of knowledge. His father was scowling, no doubt berating himself for not knowing something that would be common place had his mother's clan been native to Konoha. On the other hand, his mom was looking very pleased despite confessing herself that she had only ever seen the symbol drawn in old documents.

Shikadai found himself growing more curious about the suspicious nature of said clan he apparently had a part in.

"You'll have to send them a thank you note."

"No one writes letters anymore, mom. Can't I just send them an email?"

"It's not about convenience," she tutted, throwing the pendent back to him, which he caught in midair, "it shows good manners."

Shikadai seriously wanted to say that such a thing was bothersome but it was hard when his mother was looking at him like that. He had yet to face an enemy that could make him quake in his boots quite like she did. Thankfully, by now he had mostly learned how to avoid setting her off.

"Okay, fine, I'll write a letter."

She nodded approvingly and went back to eating dinner. Yeah, he'd write it and maybe he'd ask his uncle's about its origin. He didn't want to break the peace right now.

Tonight wasn't the time to bring up the past. It was enough to be here with his parents recognizing him as a true shinobi.


	56. Home Coming

It was great to be home. After a gruelling mission, the sight of his own front door was more than welcomed. The mission had only lasted for three days but it had seemed much longer.

At one point he thought he might actually be annoying his teammates with how often he sighed and offhandedly commented on something related to Temari or Shikadai.

There couldn't be any fault in that though he thought, since it had just been right before he left that his son had learned how to crawl. In that context, three days seemed like a very long time. Everyday Shikadai seemed to be learning something new and Shikamaru hated to be missing any of it.

But he had to be realistic. There was no way for him to stay home all the time and watch his son. Someone had to be working and, seeing as Shikadai was still so young, Temari needed to be there for him.

In some ways, this distance made the reunion all the more sweet.

He threw his shoes into the closet and got rid of the bag that had been weighing him down throughout the mission. The house was quiet. Strange, because even though Shikadai was fairly easy going, he was still a baby. And babies cry, blabber nonsensical words, laugh...make some sort of noise at least.

Shikamaru's stride became quicker as he walked down the hall, peeking into every room. As soon as his nerves were about to get the better of him and he opened his mouth to call out, he heard Temari's voice.

"Shikadai, who's that?"

Relief flooded through him and it was quickly followed by amusement. Temari's baby talk was something that never failed to get a laugh out of him. That high and lilting way of talking really didn't suit her but he found it endearing nonetheless.

Of course, the two of them were in the last room he checked. His wife was crouched down with a camcorder in her hands positioned towards Shikadai.

Their son was holding himself up on the window ledge, more interested by whatever was happening outside than the camera.

Purposely, Shikamaru made more noise than he usually would when he walked into the room. Only a few months old, Shikadai had nowhere near the senses keen enough to recognize Shikamaru's presence without him being obvious about it. On cue, the baby's head turned as soon as his father walked through the doorway.

Shikadai's smile was instantaneous upon recognizing who it was. Call it an irrational worry, but even someone as intelligent as he had wondered whether Shikadai would remember him. He had wondered about, at such a young age, how long would it take for his presence to become completely erased from his son's memory.

Evidently, all of that worry had been misplaced as Shikadai clearly knew him. The big toothless smile he was receiving was the proof. Shikadai lowered himself to the ground with wobbly legs. The landing was anything but graceful as he plopped down the ground with a little bit of a thud. Temari chuckled in the corner but Shikadai was undeterred.

Shikamaru found himself smiling, how could he not? He crouched down to the ground so he could be at Shikadai's level. Since he'd been away, Shikadai had gotten more coordinated and a lot faster at the whole crawling thing. He must have been a handful for Temari. The sounds the baby was emitting could only be described as excited gurgles. When Shikadai reached him he flapped his arms up and down, something Shikamaru took as a request. He scooped his son up.

"Hey, did you miss me?" Shikadai let out an exhilarated squeal when Shikamaru stood up and tossed him up into the air.

Shikadai's laugh was infectious and he couldn't help but join in, even when Shikadai was putting his hands all over his face, almost poking his eye out in the process. His little hands seemed to be getting into everything right now; it must be a phase. From the eye that wasn't being prodded, Shikamaru saw Temari turn off the camcorder and come over to join them. She wrapped her arms around him, putting Shikadai in between the two of them. He felt that everything was back to the way it should be now that he was here with his small family.

"Welcome home."


	57. Protector

_I just wanted to take the time to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited and read this story. I can't believe there are so many of you! _

_Thank you, thank you, and continue to enjoy. _

* * *

"Protect her."

Though the suggestion of Temari needing protection may seem unnecessary and misplaced to many, it did not alter the seriousness or urgency of his tone. There was no doubt that she could hold her own in battle. He had seen her take on shinobi twice her size with just her fan and a smirk.

And it was true that she had more years of experience in the field than he.

So many times now that he'd lost count; he had seen her fight and immerge victorious. But there were also the times when she had managed to escape due to pure luck. Those were the times that he had managed to swoop in and save her at the last minute like he knew she would and had done for him.

And, right now, this was why Shikamaru felt so uneasy.

He should be on this mission. However, even his brilliant mind couldn't make a case for himself. His jutsu would not additionally benefit the team in any way and, at the moment, he was needed in Konoha. The most Shikamaru could do was stare down this jounin and pray that this man would somehow be able to fill in for himself.

What he dreaded was that this shinobi, like many others, particularly at their level, was the type to forfeit the life his comrades for the sake of the mission. Of course, Temari had gone on plenty of missions without him and vice versa. She didn't rely on him to save her, but unlike past missions this one was a particularly dangerous and difficult A-rank.

The likelihood of one of their members falling was around 50% and his mind was struggling to keep itself in denial, to block the unspeakable thought that it might be her.

At times like these, they were supposed to be together. That was how these types of situations had worked out for them in the past. Temari saved him and then he would return the favor, but not this time around.

"Do you understand?"

He sounded harsh, even to his own ears, but he wouldn't amend his words. The disallowance to feel the pain of losing someone close to him again had all but shut down his ability to empathize. Having been married for a mere three months, he refused to be made a widower.

The jounin in question slightly bowed his head in understanding, before exiting through the door. Shikamaru looked down to where his hands were clenched tightly in fists on top of his desk. He sighed and collapsed back into his chair, rubbing his temples.

It really wasn't his place to be ordering around his fellow jonin, especially one who had more seniority than he did. However, after the war, very few people questioned his authority and he would worry about social niceties later. His mind could only process one thing at a time right now. The only thing to keep him sane in the next few days would be her promise to give him daily updates on the status of their mission.

Protecting her was just something that came naturally to him, it always had.

Before they were married, before she was his girlfriend, before they were even friends really, he had always felt personally responsible for her wellbeing on some level. In the early days, he shielded her from physical harm. This wasn't too unusual for him. Shikamaru had always felt bound to protect his teammates and, as an ally, he had mindlessly slotted her into that category.

However, when it came to Temari, it was much more than just her physical well-being that he felt obliged to look out for. There was hardly ever a need to guess what she was thinking. No matter how hard she tried, her true emotions always showed on her face; the twitch of a brow or a downward tug of the lip.

As such, it was always easy to see when she was down. Somehow, he was always able to cheer her up, be it by a bad joke or thoughtful action. Despite being easy to read, it wasn't very often that she expressed hurt. Temari had thick skin after all.

So, on the rare occasion when he did see pain flash through her eyes, it brought something out of him that, after the fact, he was never proud of. It was the side of his nature that had allowed him to speak so callously to the other jonin.

Friend or foe, it didn't really matter. In the heat of the moment, whoever was careless enough to upset her deserved the penalty of his wrath. This vengeful side of him was usually kept well under wraps but seeing her in emotional distress made it easier to be cruel and ignore the consequences of his actions.

Shikamaru would fight tooth and nail just to see that carefree smile of hers he loved so much.

This was how their relationship worked. They took care of each other.

Even if he really wanted to shirk his duties and run out after them, he wouldn't. Temari would yell at him and it would be the epitome of unprofessionalism. No matter how much he hated it, this was how it had to be. Before she left, she had reminded him that they had carried out approximately the same amount of A-rank missions in their careers, with her pulling slightly ahead of him at that. No one could doubt her, least of all him.

Everything was going to be fine, he told himself. He tried to ingrain those words into his mind. Yes, the mission would be a success and every – He paused and sighed.

Damn it. He couldn't just sit here with his thoughts.

It was ironic, people blindly followed any advice he dished out but he couldn't even believe himself. Quickly, Shikamaru pulled together all the paper work he already knew wouldn't be getting finished today and headed off to find Naruto. For once he would be the one distracting the blonde hokage, instead of the other way around.

In three days time, all of his friends would surely be annoyed with him. Three days couldn't pass soon enough he thought bitterly.

* * *

He was immensely relieved when the first letter showed up.

His spirits did slightly drop at how short and to the point it was. But what did he expect, a letter written in cursive? She was in the middle of a mission and didn't have the time to write out long prose.

To begin with, Temari was blunt so he couldn't expect anything more from her letters. Regardless of its simplicity, the letter managed to pull a smile out of him.

**_'We've made it to the halfway point, currently surrounding those in question. Everyone is safe.'_**

And so it began.

The single best part of his day became opening her letters. Shikamaru felt sorry for the poor mailman who was becoming increasingly unsettled by his frequent appearance. Shikamaru had memorized that man's schedule by now and knew that letters were brought to the Hokage tower three times a day.

Without fail, he was always there.

The mail man probably thought Shikamaru was stalking him by the way he continually lurked around the area, hoping to catch a glance of a letter for himself marked by familiar penmanship. In fact, as he was by the mailing room so often. When the second letter arrived the man simply handed it to him directly. However, the second letter he received was not really a letter at all, as it contained a single word.

**'Safe'**

And like that, the cogs began to spin in his head again and nervousness bubbles in the pit of his stomach. What kind of scenario must she be in to only jot down a single word? Would she lie to him about her welfare for his own sake?

He shook his head. No, he couldn't let himself think that way, he would drive himself mad. But no matter who he talked to, they could never fully assure him. And it wasn't until he spoke with his mother – yes he had become that desperate – that he realized why no one could pacify him.

The tight line of her mouth and the way none of what she was saying quite reached her eyes revealed made it clear. She had been in this position, sitting, waiting for someone to return who never did. Everyone was simply telling him what they thought he needed to hear.

But at this point he didn't know what, if anything would make him feel better; sugar coated falsehoods or the cold hard truth.

The third and final letter he received almost gave him an aneurysm. This was supposed to be the day he could relax; the day he would read her last letter, which would say she was still safe and on her way home. While it did state that she was indeed on her way back to Konoha, the letter had not been written by his wife.

He accidently crushed the note in his hand in his haste to the Hokage's office. There was almost nothing he couldn't persuade a person to do if he was really intent on it. So he wagered that it wouldn't take long to convince the hokage to let him out of the village to meet up with Temari's team.

As expected, Naruto barely looked up from his paperwork while granting him permission to leave the village. It wasn't unusual to see shinobi running in and out of the village in a hurry. What was uncommon was to see Konoha's most renowned lazy shinobi going anywhere in a rush.

About an hour outside the village he could just make out a group of people on the horizon, but he could tell right away that it was them. Though someone else was carrying her fan, he was immediately able to identify her distinctive hairstyle.

Temari had the arm of one of her teammates wrapped around her shoulder, Shikamaru recognized him as the jonin he spoke to three days ago, and it looked like she was helping him walk.

When Temari noticed him she looked momentarily surprised before rolling her eyes and grinning. He caught up with them in no time. Resolving not to embarrass her any further in front of her team, Shikamaru only allowed himself to give her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. He then substituted in for Temari and helped walk the other limping jonin back to the village.

He figured that she would be tired and the other man wouldn't have to stoop down as much with himself acting as a crutch. They spoke of the mission, which had been very successful. Temari sheepishly apologized for not being able to write the last letter. He never blamed her, of course. It amazed him that she had already seen through his impassive face and was well aware of how anxious he had been.

Once they reached the village gates they all went their separate ways with Temari and him turning towards their home.

* * *

He wasted no time in pulling her towards the couch, settling her in his lap, now that they were finally alone and together. Temari was still talking about the mission excitedly and failed to notice that Shikamaru really wasn't paying attention to a single word.

His fingers combed through her hair, he nodded and hummed in agreement whenever the conversation deemed it necessary. He happily would have continued on this way had Temari not said something that piqued his interest.

"What was that?" Temari smirked a little, amused by how distracted he had been. Any other time she may have chastised him for it, but not right now.

"I was talking about the member of my team, the one with the twisted ankle," she repeated.

"Yeah, but you said something else too."

"Oh, all I said was that he was acting strangely throughout the entire mission. He was the one who wrote that last letter when I was too busy, even though he was injured and we were such a rush. He pretty much insisted on it. Then, when we were fighting the day before, he threw himself right in front of me even though it would have been clear to any jonin worth his title that I could have dodged the attack myself. Even after, when I was trying to help bandage up his foot, he wouldn't let me help," she watched her eyes narrow as she relived the memory. "He kept muttering some nonsense, saying that it would have been worse if he hadn't done it."

Shikamaru got the sinking feeling that this behaviour had something to do with him. In fact, he had no doubt about it.

He continued to run his fingers through her hair and looked anywhere but her eyes to avoid giving himself away. He had never thought he possessed the ability to make someone sacrifice themselves like that. This jonin, a complete stranger to both of them, had spared Temari from injury.

Shikamaru did feel bad that this man had been caught in the cross fire, but hadn't that been exactly what he had semi-ordered the shinobi to do? Idly, he wondered how he must have appeared to the other man. There was no way for him to tell what sort of expression he had made then but, obviously, it had struck a chord within the other.

"You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" she mused. The tone of voice told him that she had it all figured out.

"I may have said something to him." She chuckled lightly and the sound made the corners of his mouth pull upwards.

"Hmm, I kind of wish I'd been there to see the look on your face. Whatever it was, it must have scared him pretty good. You don't really seem capable of that though."

She stared intently, trying to picture a threatening expression. He set his face into its usual bored look, making it even harder for her to imagine.

She laughed, giving up.

Shikamaru had shown her just about every expression he was capable of making but never had he looked upon her with pure hostility; annoyance and offence maybe but never aggression.

"I'm glad you're safe," he felt a little embarrassed to be stating the obvious now.

But Temari didn't tease him for it. She didn't say anything as she adjusted herself so that her head was resting against his chest. And for the first time since they had been reunited, he realized how exhausted she must be. Easily enough, he carried her back to their room and tucked the both of them into bed, not carrying that it was still very early in the evening.

"I'm glad you're back," he whispered, not wanting to disrupt her sleep.

"I'll always come back," she murmured sleepily.

Had she been more alert, perhaps she wouldn't have said it. Temari knew as well as he that that was one of the few promises they could never truly keep to one another. However, the two of them would fight with everything they had to keep it. Even if it meant coercing other people to substitute in for them, Shikamaru thought amusedly before falling asleep.


	58. Insecure

The first time a girl named Shiho had been brought to her attention, Temari had disliked her instantly.

Ino must have sensed her animosity because she quickly tried to retract what she had said about the girl and how she had been harbouring a long term crush for Shikamaru. Not wanting any more ill will to befall Shiho, Ino had quickly added that her teammate had never once seen the other woman as anything more than an acquaintance. However, this did nothing to put off Temari's uneasiness.

Somehow she had never imagined other women falling for him, which was ridiculous because she had; she was dating him. Why wouldn't anyone else?

Obviously, he was bound to catch the eyes of other girls. He was good looking but, more so than that, he was a good man. Temari felt that she had slighted him by being so oblivious to his appeal outside of herself.

The very few times she had thought of other people interfering in their relationship she had always envisioned it would be him wanting someone else; a woman who was easier to deal with.

And on every occasion that the threat of her being forced into a political marriage had been brought up, she had always minimized his fears. True, there was nothing to be worried about. She would never agree to to an arranged marriage. But she hadn't really tried to see it from his point of view.

How would she feel if some other woman, one who could give him the things he wanted and possibly make him happy, came around? The thought made heart clench and she hated the sensation. Almost more so than those feelings, she hated the compulsive need she now had to know more about this girl.

"How do you know he hasn't seen her as anything more than an acquaintance?" she questioned accusingly.

Ino was looking at her as if she'd gone mad. Perhaps she was being a bit irrational.

"Temari, I can read people's minds. Not that I'm intentionally trying to spy on my teammates or anything, but sometimes their thoughts just jump out at me." Ino defended herself.

Frankly, Temari didn't really care if Ino dug through Shikamaru and Chouji's minds or not. All she wanted to know was if this girl was a threat.

The sudden thought made her re-evaluate herself.

These types of thoughts and behaviour were juvenile.

"I haven't gotten anything from Shikamaru about Shiho," Ino continued.

"Then how can you be sure there's nothing there?" she pressed, hating that she couldn't leave the topic well enough alone.

"Tch, let me finish, would you? I've never heard anything about Shiho when I was in his mind but I've gotten more than enough information on you to know that there's no reason to be concerned about her. Honestly, I know more about the two of you than I want to," Ino muttered.

Temari ignored that last dig. She couldn't remember Shikamaru ever mentioning this Shiho girl.

"How did they meet?"

"Am I sensing jealousy?" Ino teased. Temari didn't even flinch.

"I think Shikamaru would be very happy if you showed him this needy side of you. He likes to be depended on, you know?" she smirked.

"I am not needy," she bristled with a slight blush.

Temari knew that if the tables were turned Ino would already be in a jealous rage, trying to find the woman who was encroaching upon her 'territory'.

"If you say so," Ino said with a smirk. "She works for the cryptology department. They met there before the war."

So she was smart, Temari thought. That made it even worse.

"I'll see you later Ino."

"You want to get a look at her don't you?" Temari didn't even reply as she went to find the cryptology department.

* * *

In all her years as a kunoichi, she never imagined she'd be using her training to spy on a girl for reasons unrelated to a mission.

She felt more than stupid waiting here for this Shiho to appear. What did she even hope to gain from this? Surely it would only make her feel worse if this girl looked like someone who could stand beside Shikamaru. She shouldn't be here.

Temari knew she was better than this, or at least more level headed. But when the door swung open, she couldn't bring herself to leave. Her curiosity won out and she found herself unabashedly scrutinizing the girl.

She had slightly untidy blonde hair. Temari wonders if Shikamaru has a thing for that.

Her eyes were covered by a pair of enormous glasses that seemed to be continuously slipping down her nose. She supposed that it might look academic to some people but here and now she thinks it looks a bit geeky, though that might just be her resentment talking.

The woman didn't look like she had spent a day out in the field, all soft edges and unmarred skin. Shiho slightly stumbled around her office. She was alone so Temari could tell her clumsiness was genuine and not just a ploy for attention.

She wouldn't make a good kunoichi.

But her awkwardness might be seen as endearing to some people. This girl wasn't beautiful but she was demure.

An insecure part of Temari questions if demure is the opposite of troublesome.

This Shiho didn't look like someone who would nag or argue. In fact, she would probably be more than happy to run a home and patiently wait on her husband.

Just as fast as she had entered, Shiho left, sending a bunch of papers cascading off her desk.

Temari sat in hiding for a couple more minutes after Shiho disappeared.

This really had been a bad idea.

It shouldn't matter that Shiho was, without a doubt, infinitely less 'troublesome' than herself. She was the one with Shikamaru. Obviously, he saw something in her.

_'For how long though," _that insecure part of her mind returned and whispered. How long would her lazy boyfriend put up with a woman who was always harassing him to do things with her? When would he grow tired of dealing with their long distance situation?

These thoughts continued to plague her as she walked back to where she'd left Ino. Temari was ready to hang her head and admit that her friend had been right about the whole thing.

She hadn't expected Shikamaru to be waiting in place of Ino. Temari wonders if the blonde has set this whole thing up.

He looks just as impassive as ever as he lounges on the bench, like he doesn't have a care in the world. But she's not fooled. Even if nothing shows on his face, she knows that his mind never rests.

When he notices her approaching, he grins. Temari knows her answering smile is not what he expected by the way he sits up a little straighter and the smirk slips from his face.

She suspects he's already trying to determine what's wrong. And the last thing she wants him finding out is where she's been for the past ten minutes.

He'd think she was insane, bordering on obsessive.

* * *

"What happened?"

"Nothing," she lies.

The last thing she wants is to prove that she's more work than her worth. He sighs in frustration and looks up to where she's standing in front of the bench he's sitting on.

He looks tired in that moment.

"Troublesome," the tone of his voice tells her that it's meant to be teasing but after everything it has hit an exposed nerve.

She wants to shout at him. Yeah, perhaps she is troublesome; she's probably the most troublesome woman a man like Shikamaru could ever possibly be unfortunate enough to meet.

However, even though she loved him, it wasn't something she could change about herself.

She would always want to have the last word. Temari would never be able to give up the life of a kunoichi. And she couldn't turn back the hands of time and decide to be born in a place less than three days away. She couldn't change the fact that her life would always be semi-influenced by Sunan politics.

"If I'm so troublesome, why are you even here?"

The words leave her mouth before she can think them through, they slice through the air like a knife. Her eyes feel prickly. A part of her doesn't want the answer.

The unconfident part of herself, which she's growing to hate a little more every second, is terrified he'll say, '_I don't know._'

She wants her fears contradicted.

Mostly, she just needs him to say anything to fill this silence.

Temari can't bring herself to look into his eyes and demand an answer.

"Never mind," she whispered, "it's nothing. I need to be getting back to Suna anyways."

"Is this really about Shiho?"

The question stops her mid-stride.

Of course, Ino would sell her out. Why else would he be here right now?

There isn't a measure large enough in the world to gauge how foolish she feels. Everyone always commended her on how strong and self-assured she was; now she's waiting on words that could make or break her in an instant. Why did she always end up showing her weak side to him?

"Or are you breaking up with me?"

The unexpectedness of such a question makes her forget that she's supposed to be embarrassed. For the first time, she's not trapped by her own feelings and can look into his eyes which are filled with uncertainty. She regrets making him doubt her intentions and pulling them into this uncomfortable conversation.

"No. I'm not it's just that...you're sure this is okay?"

"I don't understand."

His eyes are guarded and she knows that she has to choose her words carefully. His mouth is set in a hard line. And she can tell he's trying hard to keep a neutral face.

"You don't like difficult things. None of this," she referred to the two them, "is easy. You're okay with that? If you aren't or if you think you ever won't be," Temari hated to give him an ultimatum but the pain would only be worse the longer this continued, "you should tell me now."

She doesn't feel like there's enough time to explain all her feelings. She would become lost in a torrent of memories and it would all end up feeling like a bunch of excuses.

Telling him about her near inability to open up to other people, how she had already given him too much of her trust, it would feel more like a plea to keep him from leaving.

It wouldn't be fair and yet it was the truth that she had shown him more of herself than she had ever shown to anyone else. And she had done it without realizing, without thinking of the consequences.

Temari didn't even know who she was right now, asking him to make promises about their future, to use frivolous words like forever.

"Don't you think it's worth it?"

Shikamaru answering with another question almost makes her feel like they're back to their usual banter. He's not promising her anything but it tells her that he's willing to fight.

"Some things really are a pain and then there are things like cloud-watching which aren't. But I don't group people into categories like easy and difficult, no matter how much I complain about them. Though, if I did, you never would have fallen into the easy group. It's not easy to explain," he sighed, "but I guess everyone grows up thinking they want one thing then life sort of pushes them towards what they need instead."

...

He needed her.

Konoha's head strategist actually needed her?

It's as close to a real declaration of love either one of them has ever gotten. She feels a little light headed and she can hear the pounding beat of her pulse in her ears, so much so that she doesn't even notice that he hasn't stopped talking.

"It's kind of just a habit now, when I say you're troublesome I don't actually mean – well sometimes I do mean it – but that's not the point I'm trying to make!"

He rubs the palm of one hand against his face and scrunches his eyes shut in frustration.

"See? _This_ is troublesome. I can't even form a coherent thought when you're looking at me like that."

Temari doesn't understand how that can be. She's not trying to be sly or flirtatious. In fact, she's pretty sure she looks rather dumb, standing here wide eyed and blushing.

"Ino just told me I needed to do damage control and now I'm just making a fool out of myself."

They both only ever let themselves slip up around the each other. That knowledge makes her feel a bit pleased.

The only thought on her mind when she pulls him closer is that she wants him to know how much she needs him too.

What is it about love that turns even the smartest of people into idiots?

When she kisses him she tries conveying some of that necessity. He returns it with a tad more urgency than he normally would. Temari wonders if it's a by-product of the anxiety she had just put him through. Did he really think she was about to break up with him? This wasn't some sort of casual fling to her, it never had been.

He was her closest confidant and oldest friend, that wasn't something to walk away from. As she had wanted to say earlier, he's too familiar now.

They had infiltrated the other's lives, social and professional, so completely that trying to disentangle themselves now would only result in broken hearts. It would take years for her to move on, if at all. She's certain of that when she finally pulls away.

"Sorry for blowing things out of proportion," she apologizes.

_'And for acting a little crazy_', she thinks to herself. "I shouldn't have doubted you."

Shikamaru hardly looks upset with her, wish makes her relieved. Though, he is slightly perplexed as he corrects her.

"That wasn't your mistake. You shouldn't have doubted yourself."

She's mystified that somehow he has easily forgiven her for putting them through this strife and, at the same time, finds a way to lift her confidence.

Anyone can find faults in themselves and the fact that he doesn't think she should have reason to makes her think that she may not be the only crazy one.

_'It's true,_' she muses, '_we are all fools when in love._'


	59. Waiting Up

Temari couldn't stop her eyes from glancing up at the clock. It seemed like the hundredth time she had done so in the last hour.

The continual ticking noises were taunting her. How was it that they never seemed to slow down and yet the hour hand still moved impossibly slow? She sat in a spotless living room looking for something to take her mind off the time.

There was nothing.

Temari had busied herself with household chores for the past couple of hours. All the laundry was folded, the dishes were washed, floors vacuumed, shelves dusted. It was too late to call anyone. What she really wanted was to go to bed.

It was already very late... or early, depending on how you looked at it. But even now, she knew trying to sleep would be in vain. She was much too restless, worrying about a certain troublesome man.

She looked at the clock once more then grumbled in frustration at being caught for doing so again.

Perhaps she should have swallowed her pride, just this once, and asked him to reconsider this mission. It was too dangerous. Though life threatening missions weren't anything novel to either of them, this new found peace had lulled her into a false sense of security. Happy times had made some people forget the tragedies of the war and she had almost forgotten this gut wrenching feeling that came with worrying about someone else's life.

Maybe if he hadn't gone alone would have felt calmer. But stealth was imperative and Kakashi had been confident when he enlisted Shikamaru for this particular task. And her damn pride had stopped her from asking the hokage to also be included in the mission.

Temari reached up and pulled the elastics from her hair, hoping to relieve some of the pain from her mounting head ache. She found herself even more annoyed by the thought that, had their positions been reversed, she just knows that man would have found some way to follow her.

At that time, she hadn't just been thinking of her own fear, she had also been thinking about his status as a shinobi. This was a chance for him to prove his worth to the village - not that he hadn't already - but it was imperative to show his potential for becoming the next advisor.

How would it look if she had tagged along? She wanted people to know that her husband was capable of handling complicated missions like this on his own.

There was no questioning her faith in his abilities but Shikamaru had been due back this afternoon and each hour that passed grated on her nerves a little more. As hard as she tried, she couldn't block out her fearful thoughts.

If something had gone wrong, it was probably too late by now.

Despite her concerns, her damned stubbornness kept her rooted in place at home instead of waiting out at the village gates. If she were to walk out to the gates she would be fully armed and ready to partake in a rescue mission. Although she was more used to expressing affection now, awaiting his arrival helplessly at the gates was inconceivable.

Since she was unsure of how to communicate this feeling of powerlessness, it came out as a secondary emotion; irritation. It wasn't fair and she knew it was misplaced but her way of handling softer thoughts and feelings left much to be desired, it was a wonder that Shikamaru had almost no trouble discerning them.

A scratch at the door made her jump to her feet.

Deep relief flooded through her body. She rushed to the door with unashamed urgency. However, when she yanked the door open the only thing that greeted her was the feral hissing of a bug eyed tabby cat. Its hair stuck completely on end, fangs bared, she had a feeling she looked very similar. Embarrassingly enough, the cat had actually scared her, if her pounding heart was any indication. Her mood deflated and she found herself glaring at the animal.

"Get out of here you dumb cat," she shooed the creature away and watched with dull satisfaction as it ran off into the bush.

Catching her breath, she made to lean against the house. Expecting cold outer wall to meet her back, an icy shiver ran down her spine when her waist was entangled. This time she really did scream out loud and was surprised when her open palm was met with the feeling flesh and a resounding smack sounded in the night.

"Ow," the low voice, which was instantly recognisable to her, exclaimed. Her eyes widened as she watched him rub his jaw. Already she could tell it would leave a mark.

"W-what? Why would you..."

She didn't know where to start. When did he get here? Most importantly, why couldn't he have just announced himself like a normal person?

"I was going to say you shouldn't be standing out here so defenceless but," he gingerly touched his cheek, "I guess that's not entirely true."

At first glance, it would appear she had inflicted more damage on him than anything on his mission had. Just as she was about to apologize she noticed several tears in his vest. The fabric was shredded, torn up and missing all together in some places. The material was strong and she knew that the only thing able to leave such a mark was a kunai.

Without another word, she dragged him back inside. Shikamaru, seemingly used to such treatment followed without protest.

Once the door was locked she turned on him. He flinched a bit under her hardened gaze. While he hadn't expected an overly zealous welcome home had hadn't quite prepared himself for something like this.

Temari's eyes continued to appraise his battered form. There wasn't any blood showing on his clothes. But she knew that underneath his vest there must be cuts and some of them were probably deep.

"Strip," the commanding tone of her voice rang through the living room.

Ignorant of the shocked look in Shikamaru's eyes, Temari waited patiently.

He recovered fast enough.

"Straight to the point, huh?" he sighed but there was an obvious undertone of amusement in his voice. "How troublesome, I'm pretty tired but if you're demanding..." Temari was lost for a moment and didn't quite understand why he was moving towards her until she replayed the words back in her head and realized how they sounded.

"Idiot," she had to refrain herself from hitting him once more. '_He's injured, he's injured_' she reminded herself repeatedly. "I didn't mean anything sexual by that!"

Flustered, she took the darned thing off herself. The vest was damaged beyond repair, rips and holes all over. She made a mental note to throw it in the trash tomorrow morning. With only his thin undershirt left, she could see dark red stains blooming, indicating the wounds which lay beneath.

Unceremoniously, she pushed him down to sit on the couch and headed off to find the first aid kit. She expected he would be complying with her by the time she got back. He was lazy and surely figured that the sooner she got her way the sooner he could sleep.

Additionally, Temari had the lingering suspicion that, deep down, he enjoyed being fussed over. Though, she still felt a little awkward about extending such special treatment towards him around others after that one time. Temari smirked at that particular memory.

Back when they were being stupid and neither of them were admitting how they really felt about each other, she had been tending to a wound on his arm and someone, whose face she couldn't even remember now, had commented on how her nurturing side must have come from being an older sister. Then, that person had needlessly added that the two of them looked like they had a good brother and sister relationship.

Temari had brushed it off, not really caring what others thought, but Shikamaru had glared daggers and it was the closest she had ever seen him come to pouting. Afterwards, he'd been prickly the whole day and a major pain to work with.

At times they might act more like close friends than a married couple but no one would dare label them as having a 'sibling-like' relationship now. Nevertheless, though they weren't the type of people who laid out rules in their relationship, she was not allowed to treat him in any way that could be misread as being sisterly.

Shikamaru had been completely obstinate about that one thing.

It was really no problem for her, at no point in time had she ever thought of him as anything remotely close brother. She shuddered at the thought.

When she walked back into the room, Shikamaru was still sitting on the couch, though shirtless, and staring blankly at the wall. After such a mission he was probably exhausted but experience had taught her that disinfecting his cuts was something that should be done as soon as possible to avoid any potential scarring.

The majority of his injuries were contained to his back. Temari frowned, thinking about how no one had been there to cover that back. Shikamaru inhaled sharply and gritted his teeth as a cloth with a mixture of water and alcohol was placed on his skin. She knew it stung like crazy but it was worthwhile to avoid infection.

"Sorry," she muttered, completely engrossed with the task at hand. Her brow furrowed as she noticed a particularly deep gash just below his left shoulder. "That one will probably need stitches. Let's go to the hospital." She was on her feet quickly, looking for the shirt he had discarded so he could wear it to the hospital. It felt like she was running on autopilot.

"It can wait till tomorrow." Shikamaru didn't move an inch. He knew she was tired as well and was slightly stirred by her insistence to get him patched up.

"It's going to scar if you don't get it looked at," she argued. Temari glowered a little, knowing that he was already going to win this. She was tired and to win an argument with him she needed all her faculties in order.

"It doesn't matter to me. My old man had one," he ran a finger from the top of one eyebrow down across his eye to his cheek, "right here. It'll add to my cool image." Temari could tell he was joking, trying to lighten the mood. She wouldn't say it aloud but she was glad that he hadn't been cut on his face. His skin wasn't meant to be marred like that. If she had her way, neither of them would be getting scarred by battles anymore.

Temari was well aware that the number of scars on her body was significantly more than his, not so much that it was off putting, but enough that anyone in the onsen could tell she was a serious kunoichi. She hoped that he wasn't trying to get even with her on this field because that would be really stupid.

Though, '_A woman shouldn't have more scars than a man_,' somehow sounded like something he might say.

"I still think we should go," she protested, though without as much conviction. Shikamaru let his head sink onto the back of the couch and closed his eyes, a physical display of his exhaustion. He cracked opened one eye and evaluated her.

"Sleep," he insisted and dragged himself off the couch and reached for her hand to pull her into their room. "You'll be grumpy tomorrow morning if you don't," he warned. Her eye twitched.

"I am not grumpy!" He simply looked at her and raised his eyebrows in disbelief. She conceded. "It's not like you're a morning person anyways," she mumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, but at least I don't try to hit people when they wake me up too early."

"That was one time! I already apologized, didn't I?" Without realizing it, she had stomped past him directly into their room. He'd won again.

She flopped down onto the bed, letting her tired limbs finally relax. Truthfully she didn't want to argue with him, even their usual teasing banter; she had spent the last few days worrying wondering if he was safe. It seemed silly to be doing anything other than enjoy right now. She decided to follow her own advice. Rolling over across her side of the bed, she reached out towards him and pulled them into a position reminiscent of one they usually woke up in.

At first glance it wouldn't seem comfortable. There was hardly any breathing space between their entwined limbs but it was entirely familiar. When they were like this, all the tension slowly eased from her muscles and, for once, she could be entirely content with doing absolutely nothing.

"I'm forgiven already?" She rolled her eyes. He was the one who had kicked up a fuss about sleeping and now he wanted to egg her on.

"Sleep," she would have said more were she not already on her way to becoming comatose herself.

"You always have to get the last word in, don't you?" This time she smiled and knew he must have felt it through his shirt. It was really warm and, finally, her mind was at peace knowing that he was okay. Nevertheless, because what he says is true, she was compelled to speak once more before falling asleep.

"Of course."


	60. Intervention

Yamanaka Ino was head of her clan, an overseer of the Yamanaka flower shop, a chuunin, a renowned beauty and, perhaps above all, an amazing friend; if she could say so herself. From a very young age, her father had taught her the importance of bonds. It was the people around you and what they thought of you that spoke volumes of your character.

Her now departed father had also lectured her on love. She had been raised to embody the meaning of the bush clover, a flower which symbolized a blunt and candid love. Therefore, it only went to reason that when a friend of hers was having trouble with love she should give her two cents.

This was what she lived for.

Being a romantic soul, she couldn't help but live vicariously through her friends. Although a spokesman for love, Ino had not found it in her life yet. And this was the only time she could catch a glimpse of that world. However, images of candle lit dinners and spring walks through parks were rapidly disintegrating right before her eyes as she endured the ever pressing silence of her charge.

Why couldn't it have been Sakura?

Her best friend would often come to her with the odd complaint or request for advice and Ino gladly dispensed her wisdom. This was a little harder to do when the person across from her wasn't even speaking, much less asking questions.

At this point in time, Ino would rather have just about anyone here than her teammate. But she was conflicted, as much as she felt this was a lost cause, she couldn't stand his behaviour any longer.

It was downright infuriating to watch and actually a little embarrassing. There was only so much witty banter, stolen looks, knowing smirks and obvious – and she means a child in grade school could tell obvious – admiration a person could bare to witness without ripping their hair out. And she couldn't take it anymore. Love was meant to be easy once you found the right person.

As far as she was concerned, her lazy friend's search was over and Ino couldn't understand the snail-like pace he'd adopted, much less all the denial. That was why she'd brought him here with the bribe of a free lunch. However, this was much more than a heart to heart. This was an intervention and one only Ino Yamanaka could give at that.

"We need to talk." It was always more difficult to persuade Shikamaru versus Chouji. Not that her other teammate was a push over, but Shikamaru was entirely set in his own lazy ways and, most of the time, looked at her advice as nagging. There was definitely a fine line to be aware of when trying to sway him.

She needed to be equal parts cautious and firm. If she came on too strong, he'd shut her out straight away and not listen to a single word. And if she wasn't assertive enough, he would brush everything off and forget it the next week. He was already rolling his eyes which ticked her off. However, it seemed that he was open to hearing whatever she had to say.

"It's about Temari." Like a switch had been flipped, he instantly sat up a little straighter, leaned in just a bit closer and his eyes were fully focused. Ino liked the change in attitude.

"What about her?"

Hmm, he probably thought something had happened in Suna, which was why he could barely contain his anticipation under that indifferent face of his. She smirked knowingly. It wasn't right to make him wait under the impression that Temari was somehow in trouble but it was so amusing. The struggle was so obvious on his face.

"It's about you and Temari," she clarified.

All the emotion in his expression disappeared and he steeled himself instantly. This was going to be more difficult than she had previously thought if he was denying things before she even started talking. There was a certain tactic that the interrogation unit used which she thought might be helpful here. Never blame the person. Start sentences with 'we' or 'I' never 'you'.

"I think you should tell her how you feel." Shikamaru scoffed as if her proposition was unthinkable.

Ino tried really hard to stick to her goal. It was so much easier to maintain professionalism when the person you were questioning wasn't your annoying childhood friend.

"Everyone else already knows you like her. There's nothing holding you back." She didn't imagine the slightly bitter look on his face. So perhaps there'd be some obstacles in their way, but it wasn't anything they couldn't face together. He had been a commander in war for crying out loud! If he couldn't ask a girl out then no one could.

"I'm _not_ having this conversation with you." His tone held a note of finality but she was far from finished.

Not just anyone could talk sense into Shikamaru. Being a genius, she supposes that from time to time his head gets big and he feels that he knows everything. But she knew that as far as relationships went she was the real mastermind of their team.

"We _are_ having this conversation Shikamaru! Face it, Chouji and I know you best but he's too kind hearted to give you a taste of reality. I'm the only one who will so you can just sit there and listen to me." Feeling a little frazzled she took a second to compose herself once more. If Shikamaru had been thinking of running, he was too shocked now to try anything. "You're in denial," she stated.

"I am not in denial," he growled. It looked like he no longer had an appetite, as much of his lunch lay unfinished.

"What? Is there something wrong with her? Is she not good enough for you?"

"No! Of course not, why would you think that?"

"So you like her then," she said confidently.

"Yes! I mean no! Ino, whatever you're doing stop it. Everyone is always nagging about this; it's such a pain. There is _nothing_ going on between me and her, alright?"

It was frustrating for her to sit here and watch him vehemently deny it. Though the worst part was watching him try to convince himself. All their lives, it seemed, she had listened to him whine about how troublesome women were and how relationships were such a waste of time. He was a settler by nature.

He would settle for a lackluster woman and a mediocre job if it meant he wouldn't have to put in much effort. For the first time, Ino feels like she's understanding why that's the case. He's afraid.

Ever since that mission in their genin days, he's been afraid of failure. A relationship with Temari, perhaps he's looking at all the ways things could go wrong and everything in their way. If he perceives the fail rate as too high from the beginning, there's no way he'd pursue anything. At some point, though, a person just had to take that chance.

"Okay, you can sit here and deny everything," she held up her hand when he was about to interrupt again, "but are you going to be okay with the alternative?"

"What are you going on about now?" As much as he hated this, she knew she had piqued his curiosity. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for what no one else had the guts to do.

"She's very pretty, you know?" Shikamaru looked completely taken off guard by this change of direction. "She's smart and courageous. She has a good reputation with high ranking officials in almost every village and everyone can see how caring she is by how she looks out for her brothers. Someone else will notice her. It might not happen right away, maybe in a couple of years, but it will happen. And when it does, when she's happy with some other guy and getting married, will you be able to smile and give them your blessing?"

Throughout her speech, Shikamaru's head had drifted downwards so that his gaze was fixated on the table. Ino really wants to know what kind of face he's making but she doesn't have the right to rush him right now, especially after what she's just said.

"I could do it." He's talking normally but there's an edge to those words which makes her feel like he's lying. It makes her think that congratulating Temari under such circumstances is the last thing he'd want to do.

"I see. Then I guess you would be able to go on with no regrets. There wouldn't be any awkwardness when you saw each other at Union meetings?" He turned his head, looking at some invisible thing out the window, as she pressed on. "You wouldn't mind watching her and that man's child compete in the chuunin exams?"

He turned on her then with a look that was equal parts anger, annoyance and hurt. It was strange face. The mood was totally depressing. She had to lift it somehow or he'd be avoiding her for the rest of the week.

"Look Shikamaru, I know you're mad at me but you have to hear the truth. I wish there had been someone able to convince me that going after Sasuke was a lost cause but there wasn't. This isn't about me though and it's different for you. You have a chance. She likes you."

"Ino, you don't even know her." He's still fighting with himself, she thinks, not wanting to believe her words.

"Maybe I don't know Temari that well but I do know girls and I know that she likes you. The two of you are the only ones who don't seem to get it!"

Even with her prompting, he still looked weighed down by the whole situation. It figured that two of the most stubborn people she knew would fall for each other. She had just told him that the girl he likes is interested in him.

He should be celebrating!

He should be smiling at the very least.

So why was he acting like the situation had just become ten times more complicated?

"I'm not saying that you need to do anything right now. But I don't want to see you get swept aside just because you didn't say anything to her. Just think about it, okay?"

He grunted something that may have been an agreement.

It gave her a little hope; perhaps this hadn't been a total disaster. The scratch of his chair against the floor told her that this intervention was finished. She was sort of intimidated to look him in the eye after everything. It probably wouldn't even be possible with the rate at which he was heading out the door.

"Ino," he called to her from the doorway. Shikamaru had gotten up so fast that she hadn't expected him to speak to her. "Thanks."

And with that he left her.

Momentarily, she was fixed in her chair not knowing what to make of the last few seconds. His expression had been...determined wasn't the right word. Somehow the kid who had always complained about everything had looked almost mature.

Ino found herself blinking, trying to comprehend it. Something just happened here, it was too soon to say whether it was good or bad, but she was certain that her words had changed things.

Leaning back in her seat, Ino wondered if it would a good idea to make a trip out to Suna to give the ambassador a little intervention of her own.


	61. Valentine

Valentine's Day was a holiday she used to be indifferent about and had no problem ignoring.

For the better part of the last half a decade, many people had felt the same way about that particular day in Suna. The holiday was still celebrated, of course, but it was a time of war. Most found it hard to celebrate a holiday symbolic of love when there were more pressing matters like survival to worry about.

Suna had also felt the strain of economic depression so those who did celebrate the holiday did so mildly, without much fanfare. Over the years, Temari had only been vaguely aware of when Valentine's Day came and went.

Unlike many, she never felt lonely or depressed spending the day alone. If she wanted chocolate or flowers, she could buy that for herself.

Today it felt like she was being punished for her years of ignorance because the first year she had someone to celebrate with she was in Suna and he was a whole three days journey away.

* * *

Temari glowered as she marched along the village streets towards the Kazekage's office.

Why was it now that she noticed all the red hearts and other overly sappy memorabilia in, what seemed like, every shop window? This was the only time she would ever resent Suna's newfound wealth, for making all this excessiveness possible.

Her scowl became more prominent as she watched a young couple walk hand in hand down the street. By the time she reached Gaara's office, people were stepping out of her way. She wasn't even thinking about the face she was making right now. Always professional at work, very few people ever saw her lose her temper. Everyone was able to sense the dangerous aura rolling off her in waves.

"I have the paperwork you requested," she said sharply.

Startled by her tone, Gaara looked up from his work. Temari felt a little guilty for addressing him so abruptly. Her brother's eyes stared up at her curiously.

Pin pointing other's emotions was still difficult for him and she wouldn't be surprised if he thought she was angry at him.

"Excuse me," she apologized, "I'll be leaving for tonight. Do you need anything else?"

"Temari...," Gaara still looked uncertain.

"Don't bother Gaara." She was surprised by the new voice in the room.

Kankuro's head emerged from behind a stack of papers. A taunting smile was already on his face and she knew he was in the mood to tease. Unfortunately for him, her patience was very thin today.

"Kankuro," the way she greeted him was enough to let everyone know she was less than thrilled by his presence. Temari hoped her tone was enough of a warning. Though she was the most diplomatic out of the three, she had no qualms teaching her eldest brother a lesson.

"Lonely girls always get like this today. She's just testy because she can't be in Konoha."

"No one asked for your opinion, Kankuro!" She snapped, embarrassed. Her brother had been right on the money. Temari hated being so transparent. It wasn't a secret that she didn't want to be spending today alone but there wasn't really another alternative, not a responsible one at least. Just because she was Gaara's sister didn't mean she received special treatment. She couldn't request being sent to Konoha just because it was Valentine's Day.

She had more professionalism and pride than to wish for something so frivolous. She knew, both of them did, that there would be times like these where holidays, birthdays and special occasions would be missed. They were aware and willing to make those sacrifices but that didn't make it any easier or less frustrating.

"You should just admit it. You're a romantic just like the rest of _them_." Kankuro was probably referring to the vast majority of women her age. She didn't think there was anything wrong with wanting love or being in love but listening to her brother's accusation irritated her. "Why don't you tell us how much you miss him?" he teased with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"At least I have someone unlike you who only has puppets," she fired back mercilessly.

"W-what?" His smug expression was wiped clean. "At least that's better than walking around all depressed," he angrily defended himself.

Gaara watched their back and forth with mild interest. Kankuro and her arguing was nothing new to their little brother. They always tried to refrain from bickering when Gaara was around but sometimes it wasn't possible. It had gotten better now that they were living separately. Kankuro and Gaara still shared their family home but she had felt the need for some further independence. She had gotten used to the tranquility.

Temari gritted her teeth, trying to think up a comeback. Had she really looked that depressed?

What was happening to her? She had been through much worse than this without losing face.

"Kankuro," Gaara's cool voice drew both their attention, "you shouldn't taunt her. Temari, you should know that he's just trying to get a reaction from you. We've been doing paperwork all day. If Kankuro is anything like me, he's probably quite bored." Temari slumped a little at being scolded by her youngest sibling. Gaara was always the voice of reason when she and Kankuro quarreled.

"I'm sorry," she apologized more towards Gaara than Kankuro. With a slight bow of her head she turned on her heel and left.

Not wanting to subject anyone else to her bitterness, she decided to go back to her apartment. Would it be sad if she got herself takeout and ice cream? She realized how clichéd it would be but at the same time she really didn't have the energy to cook.

* * *

Sometime later she stood in her one man apartment with her single box of takeout.

The room was dark and she didn't even bother with turning the lights on. Her plan was to eat dinner, watch a movie and call it a day. Idly, she wondered if there were any good action movies on, preferably one with a lot of gore. Grabbing a glass of water she made her way to the couch in front of the T.V. Without warning, she stumbled into something hanging off the side of her table.

She dropped her water in surprise and the sound of glass shattering was, surprisingly, louder than her cursing. Angrily, she went to turn on the lights. She had memorized every inch of her apartment and she knew nothing had been left on that table before she left in the morning.

Years of being targeted for assassination had taught her to be wary. She was expecting a package filled with explosive tags or something else of that nature, definitely not the bouquet of flowers she saw. Somehow, they had miraculously stayed together in their perfect arrangement. Gingerly stepping over the shards of glass, she reached down to pick them up and noticed they were fresh.

It was a given who they were from.

She didn't need to read the note, though she would later. Three days under the relentless desert sun would make any flower wither and dry out. Temari also knew that, because of this, Suna's flowers were transported via carts with refrigeration systems. Thus, the flowers sent to her would have had to come in with a shipment, meaning the order was placed a week before.

It was a very thoughtful gesture. Then again, was he ever not thinking?

Temari had a deep appreciation for all types of flora. Since her desert home was less than habitable for more delicate flowers, she didn't have the luxury of being picky. To her, even the simplest bouquet of daisies would have seemed exotic. What she was looking at was much more extravagant and Temari couldn't help but smirk as she thought of Ino's likely involvement in all of this.

It really didn't matter how large or artfully arranged the bouquet was. What impressed her most was the gladiolus. A flower she had off handily mentioned liking months ago. It wasn't a staple in arrangements so she was positive that Shikamaru must have remembered and told Ino.

Suddenly, even though she was by herself today, she felt much better. On her way to find a vase for her flowers she started humming. It was ridiculous how something so small could completely change her mood. Though it also made her realize just how upset she had been before. Frustrated to be spending the day alone and hurt for not receiving anything even though she'd sent a gift to him.

She shouldn't have doubted him but she had. After all, she was still new to all of this. Temari had always found that the lifestyle of a shinobi came naturally to her. She never had to try too hard to be good at fighting, strategizing or all the rest of it. And for someone who also seemed ahead of the curve, being thrown off her game by something like romance was a shock.

She sighed to herself as she reached for the note accompanying her gift. Temari had embarrassed herself more in the past couple months than she ever could have imagined doing so. Along the way, she'd learned many new things about herself. For instance, a couple sweet words could make her face cherry red. Though not unused to being hit on by men, the slightest suggestive comment from him had her heart hammering like a freight train.

When it came to romance she was still green, a fawn stumbling on gangly new legs.

However, she'd bare some humiliation for the end result. They were in the same boat after all, both novices. Stepping over the mess she'd created with the glass, she walked to her bedroom. She wanted to be able to see them first thing when she woke up the next morning. No one was here to judge her for doing sappy things so she placed the bouquet on her dresser unapologetically. A large smile graced her lips as she flopped down onto her bed and began to read the letter.

He was coming to Suna. Not tomorrow or the next day but in a week, though she didn't mind. For once, Temari had patience in spades. Over the years she had made many more trips to Konoha than he had to her village, to be fair her work demanded it. The times that he came were special. She loved showing off the place where she grew up.

There was an inherent need she had to make him see the beauty in the village most people labelled as a dried up wasteland. Every time he visited she was able to experience the places she'd been to millions of times with new eyes. Yes, she closed her eyes and let her head sink down into her pillow, she really loved it.

Love, it was the predominant word buzzing around in her mind and it made her pause and really think.

Did she love him?

Was she actually _in _love?

The thought alone made her stomach somersault. She had to break it down further, to come to that conclusion all at once was more than her overworked heart could handle. It wasn't difficult for her to picture a life with Shikamaru. In the past, she'd allowed herself to daydream about what it'd be like.

On the other hand, imagining a future with anyone else was pretty much impossible. She just couldn't believe that there was someone out there who could manage her attitude. More so than that, the two of them just clicked, they always seemed to know what the other was feeling or thinking without much effort. Whenever she tried to envision another, she drew a blank and then the blank would ultimately be filled by that cry-baby's face. With that, she was confident that no other man would ever be able to simultaneously enrage and entrance her in quite the same way.

To sum up her feelings, she was happy, she didn't want anyone else and...She was indeed in love with Shikamaru Nara.

Roughly she pulled her blanket up to her nose to hide her face so that only her eyes showed. Damn him! More than a thousand miles away and he was still making her act like a pathetic schoolgirl. Irritated, she shoved all the covers off her body completely. After confessing such a thing to herself, Temari suddenly felt a little anxious about seeing him.

He was one of the very few people that could make her truly afraid. They threw insults at each other all the time but to be ever be seriously rejected by him was something she didn't think she could take.

She was a hypocrite.

He was actually much more courageous, at least when it came to their relationship. It had been him who had asked her out even though she'd harboured feelings for him years before that day. Even now, when they were both content, she didn't know if she had the guts to own up to her feelings.

Staring off to her left, she looked at her clock and took note of the time. She really shouldn't be making herself so emotional this late at night. Despite her heart pumping as if she'd run a marathon, the rest of her body felt oddly at ease. Relieved might be a more accurate word. Until now she hadn't even been aware that this issue had been weighing her down.

For a long time Temari blanked out staring at her ceiling. True to character, she began to weigh all her options. If she just came out and said it, the worst he could do was say he didn't feel the same way. But they were already dating so the likelihood of that was low. Even if he didn't feel that strongly for her yet, surely he wouldn't have asked to go out with her in the first place if he didn't think it was a possibility in the future. Logic reasoned that nothing should be stopping her from saying those three words.

A tiny voice in her mind still cast doubts. 'Too easy' it said. Some part of Temari did agree with it.

Their relationship sounded like some bizarre fairy tale. How many people actually went from enemies to friends to significant others? And how many of those people met when they were little more than children? Their transition from each step was almost seamless. She had never been heartbroken and somewhere along the line she just figured that her luck would run out eventually.

She was glad it hadn't but everyday that passed trouble-free made her more nervous. Temari chuckled a bit at the thought. She supposed that she and Shikamaru weren't all that similar after all, as here she was actually wishing for trouble.

She could imagine what his expression would be if he were here. His brow would furrow as he tried to understand how she came to such a conclusion.

'_Just be happy, troublesome woman_.'

When her body started to feel heavy and her eyes became sore, Temari decided to take Shikamaru's sagely advice – though it was really her own suggestion – and simply be happy.

* * *

Belated Valentine's Day fic. Sorry for the slow updates! - I've been hit with some writer's block. Inspiration will come from somewhere...somehow...


	62. Dearly Departed

The anniversary of his father's death was always difficult. It had already been eight years. People had stopped offering their condolences and now it was a day when he could usually wander off by himself to mourn. He didn't want to bother other people with his somber attitude.

Contrary to what he first believed, this day hadn't become easier as the years went on. Instead, sometimes were worse than others.

The first year had been the hardest. He couldn't lean on his mother because she was equally, if not more, distressed. The thought of talking to anyone had been off putting so he had spent the entire day holed up in the Nara forest sobbing and occasionally taking his frustrations out on nearby trees. The second year, he had spent less time crying which was a bonus and by the third year he had Temari with him which lessened the pain considerably.

From there on out, it had become a guessing game.

This year was hitting him particularly hard. His dad would have been fifty. He hadn't even made it halfway through his life.

Of course Shikamaru had always known that, his dad had died at forty-two, but the fact hadn't really sunk in until today. His old man had always joked about retiring from his position as jounin commander at fifty. He had said it was because the position was too much work but a part of Shikamaru had suspected that his father had wanted to make up for the time his job had taken away from his family.

Time lost that Shikamaru had been bitter about as a kid, though he never voiced it aloud. His old man was sharp and must have seen how it had bothered him. Shikamaru wanted to go back and kick some sense into his younger self. Even if his father had spent a lot of time away from home, it wasn't as if he had tried particularly hard to involve himself in his dad's life. The blame was equally shared.

Why had it taken a war for them to finally make time for each other?

In those last few months it felt like they were really getting to know each other. His dad had made sure to impart all of life's greatest lessons on him but in that short amount of time Shikamaru had learned the more obscure things. He knew what his dad's first day at the academy had been like and why he wore that hideous ripped up old vest.

The small things that he had been secretly curious thankfully hadn't been left mysteries. But like anyone else, he wished that they'd had more time.

Shikamaru wanted his dad to know that he had made a name for himself as a jounin and a member of the shinobi union. He actually yearned for all the teasing his dad would have done when he brought Temari home for the first time. His father would never know that he had got the girl he'd been complaining about as a whiny teenager, how he too had fallen prey to the Nara curse which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his eyes, which were weary from fending off tears all day. It was late and the house was asleep. The light in their room was off so he knew that Temari hadn't stayed up. The familiarity of his home brought him some peace and he idly wondered why he'd spent so much time away from it today.

Perhaps he had just wanted to wallow in his sadness.

Temari would have tried to distract him. Though her intentions were sweet, he somehow needed this sadness. Slowly and quietly, he moved past his bedroom to the next door down. The door was ajar to let the moonlight filter through. Shikamaru jumped a little as he felt the crinkle of paper beneath his feet. Looking down, he realized that the floor was littered with drawings, more like scribbles. He smiled when he noticed one had the word dad on it with a backwards d on the end.

Soft little breaths that were almost snores brought his attention back up to the bed where his son lay.

It was hard for him to believe that Shikadai was three years old already. He didn't know where that time had gone. Even though he was completely spread out, the boy still looked so small. With the lightest of touches, Shikamaru brushed Shikadai's cheek. His son leaned into his touch and mumbled something indecipherable. Shikamaru wondered what he was dreaming about.

All of the blankets had been kicked off along with the boy's socks. Thankfully, his son's face seemed peaceful albeit a bit flushed so he didn't suspect a nightmare. Nevertheless, Shikamaru was overtaken by the urge to take his son into his arms. He sat on the bed and cringed when it creaked in protest under his weight. He quickly appraised Shikadai and was thankful that the boy had inherited his ability to sleep through almost anything.

With care, he scooped his son up into a cradle. Until this moment, Shikamaru hadn't realized how cold he'd been until his son's warmth seeped through his clothes.

Holding Shikadai just a bit tighter, Shikamaru admired his sky blue pajamas which were patterned with clouds. He wondered if his own father had ever held him like this. They were so much alike; he probably had. His father would have loved his grandson who was a mini doppelganger of himself.

His dad would have spoiled Shikadai in his own way. Let him get away with anything. His father never getting a chance to meet Shikadai was one of his greatest regrets.

Regardless of all his accomplishments, Shikamaru was confident that his son was the crowning jewel.

He could stay up all night longing for what never would be but that seemed like a waste of time. Although Shikadai would never meet his grandfather he would always carry a part of him, in his looks, in his mannerisms.

One day he'd have to help guide his son, explain life and death, teach him to become a responsible adult. Every time his son picked up a shogi board, used the Nara clan techniques or even fed the deer, Shikadai would know that a part of his father would remain a part of him even if he had passed from this world.

Shikamaru looked down at the dreaming face of his child, so innocent and new. He pressed a soft kiss to the boy's forehead and laid him back down to rest.

Shikamaru walked back into his own room with a lighter heart. The universe was funny how it was always working to fill the holes, restore the balance. Having Shikadai had made him understand his old man better. On this what would have been fifty years, he was calmed by the knowledge that, while his father might not have gotten everything he wanted, he had the love of his family and friends.

Shikamaru felt arms encase him from behind and realized Temari must have woken up when he had gotten into bed. He waited for her to say something but she never did. He suspected that she had already fallen back asleep. Covering her hands that lay on his stomach with his own, Shikamaru let out a stifled yawn.

The rest of his sadness melted away as he relaxed into Temari's hold. Yes, there was a lot to be said for family.


	63. Morning Light

The morning was peaceful. Outside the window the sun was soft and even the whirring of the cicadas was gentle. The same calm could be found inside where an air of perfect contentment had settled into every nook and cranny.

However, it wasn't the quiet sounds of the morning that woke Temari, nor was it the slight unfamiliarity of the bedroom itself. When her eyes fluttered open she took stock of the gossamer curtains, the white linen sheets that felt like water and quite quickly realized where she was and how she had gotten there.

It was the feeling of being watched, of eyes focused on her being that roused her.

Without moving a muscle she looked up through her eyelashes.

For a few seconds the two just stared at each other. Temari was, for once, happy to let her mind be totally devoid of any thought and merely feel. There wasn't a moment in her life she could remember being so comfortable. If she even whispered, she feared that the spell would be broken.

Her limbs felt heavy, a testament to her fatigue, although it was a good type of exhaustion. She could let her body sink into this mattress with his arms around her and not have a single care in the world. Unlike her, he didn't have any qualms in disturbing the silence.

"How're you feeling?" he murmured. An unconscious smile played on Temari's lips.

How could she be anything other than wonderful? He was always so sensitive. After all, even if she were sore, it would be half her fault.

"Mm, I feel thoroughly married," she chuckled.

That was the truth of it. Yesterday had been such a whirlwind. After so many months of planning, she couldn't quite believe that it was all over. It had certainly been a wedding to remember.

She was proud that she had only cried twice, once when her brothers had given her away and again during the first dance with her new husband. The second time could hardly be considered her fault. Shikamaru had always been much better at voicing his feelings.

His words had been her undoing. Thankfully, she'd been able to hide her tearful face in his chest. It wouldn't do to show that side of her to all their friends and family.

"We have to send thank you notes to everyone who came."

"Ugh," Shikamaru groaned and rolled over onto his back. "Don't start talking about things we have to do. Can't we just ignore all that?" Temari didn't welcome the thought of returning to the real world anytime soon either.

"We can't stay here forever." _No matter how much she may like to_, she thought. This would be the first time she'd ever gone on vacation, though she supposes a honeymoon really isn't the same as a vacation. Nevertheless, this was as close to a holiday she had ever gotten. A full week to themselves; it was an absolute luxury. By the look in his eyes, Temari could guess that he would be perfectly content to stay here forever as well.

"Woman, why do you insist on getting back to reality so soon?"

"Sorry," she sighed, moving so that she could lay her head on his chest, trying to get back some of the peace from moments ago. "I'm not used to this relaxing thing."

"You should get used to it." There was a different tone in his voice which made her look up. Temari noticed a glint in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. "I mean, now that you're a Nara, relaxing should be second nature."

The sound of her new last name made the hairs on her arms stand at attention. That would take a while to get used to.

Most girls must feel this way after they're married. Yet, Temari couldn't help but feel that her life had changed more than most.

"Are you embarrassed?" Shikamaru sounded incredulous and it woke her from her musings. Now that he mentioned it, her cheeks were hot and being discovered seemed to make her blush that much harder.

However, Shikamaru didn't laugh or tease her. He simply looked at her with a warm smile and that somehow made her feel even more self conscious.

She tried to move away, to hide her face with her pillow, to get away from those kind chocolate brown eyes. He would have none of it. Strong arms wrapped around her, bringing her impossibly closer to him.

"You'll have to get used to it Mrs. Nara, if not from other people then certainly from me." Temari closed her eyes and tried to come to grips with it. Her mail would now be addressed to a Mrs. Nara; some people may know her as nothing else but that name.

"Why should women be the only ones to change their name?" she grumbled.

"Well, it's not like nothing in my life has changed. I'll forever be known as the man who married the scariest, most troublesome woman."

With speed and trained precision, Temari brought the pillow beside her smack down onto his face. He only laughed at her attempt to shut him up. Of course he knew that she wasn't seriously angry. Her glares didn't seem to disturb him anymore and she almost longed to go back to the days where she could make him nervous at the twitch of an eyebrow. While he made fun of her childishness, she settled for twisting her head away and staring at the wall.

As his laughter died down soon enough and they returned to silence once more. Her heart began to pick up. He was looking at her, even with her head turned around, she was sure of it. It didn't help that her mind was imagining how he might be staring at her, with mirth, exasperation or longing. Either one would be enough to break her facade of indifference, though for very different reasons. Temari hated to admit that she could only last a few seconds feigning indifference before she turned around to look at him.

And before she could fully understand what was happening, his mouth was on hers and his hands had cupped her cheeks. Her body gave in immediately, leaving her mind in the dust. It seemed impossible that this was the same man who had appeared put-off by women in general for so many years.

She doubted any would think Shikamaru Nara capable of such amorous emotion.

On more than one occasion, Ino had cast serious doubts about the passion in their relationship, stating that the two of them were really more like good friends than lovers. Though, the other blonde didn't have access to what happened behind closed doors, thank god.

"What are you thinking about?" He was breathless and Temari was very tempted to pretend she didn't hear his question. She wanted to continue until coherent speech was impossible. But she wouldn't ignore him. When she regained control of her own breathing, she looked at him seriously.

"I was just thinking that I'm very lucky." Shikamaru's fingers played with her hair, trying to tuck a stray strand behind her ear. She closed her eyes at the sensation of his touch. "I really never thought anything other than a political marriage would be possible for me."

"This is a political marriage."

"Don't be a smartass," she opened her eyes and cast him a warning glance. "You know what I mean."

She had almost resigned herself to a loveless marriage with a man who would have only been interested in her connections. She would have hated every moment of that life, having to become a shell of herself, living to produce the next heir to the kazekage clan, but she would have done it for the sake of her brothers.

If she had never met Shikamaru, everything would have turned out differently.

"So that's another point for me then? I rescued you again."

"Pfft, don't be so dramatic. Besides, if anyone, it was Naruto who kept us coming back to the hidden leaf." She watched Shikamaru's brow crinkle as he pouted cutely.

Obviously, he wasn't pleased with being cast as second fiddle to the great hero.

"No. Naruto's the reason Gaara came back. You came back because of me," he declared vehemently.

He sounded so sure of himself.

"I was the ambassador. It was my duty to show up in Konoha every once in a while," she teased, twisting strands of his black hair with her fingers. His hands slithered down to her ribcage, making her hold her breath. Firmly but with care he switched their positions so that he was now above her. He lowered his face to her neck where his lips took residence.

"I don't buy it," he whispered. His breath was so close to her ear that she actually shivered. By now his hands had wandered down to her stomach. Every muscle in her body was tight with anticipation. She was losing the fight slowly but surely.

"You might have been an added bonus," Temari supplied to buy herself more time. "I didn't know you were so competitive with your friend. It must be hard trying to compete with the saviour."

"Only when your wife insists on bringing him up in bed," he replied gruffly.

He hit a particularly tender spot on her neck in combination with the ministrations of his hands and an unbidden moan left her mouth. She didn't have to open her eyes to know how proud of himself he was. Unwilling to be completely taken advantage of, she reclaimed his lips and grabbed his hands to move them where she pleased.

"Even if he had been the reason, we would never have been like this." She sounded like she had run a marathon. The lack of oxygen to her brain must be why she was stating the obvious.

"Really?" Shikamaru played along with her anyways.

"For whatever reason, I prefer my men to be lazy and fragile." He stilled at her confession, though it was hardly the most personal thing she'd ever said to him.

Shikamaru looked her straight in the eye, in that way that only he could, which made her feel big and small at the same time.

"You really are a troublesome woman."

"But you love me anyways."

"Yeah, I do."


	64. Vulnerability

Shikamaru wasn't happy when he opened his eyes and realized the morning sun had yet to rise. From inside the thin walls of the tent he could tell it was still dark outside. And he would have been more irritated if he weren't so confused. It took a lot to wake him up and he couldn't remember the last time he had naturally woken up so early.

Usually, he had his alarm set to go off numerous times in the morning. Even then, it wasn't always a foolproof plan.

A vibration of sorts against his back startled him. Though his mind was a bit slower than usual, having just woken up, he was beginning to put together what had disturbed his sleep.

He was travelling right now and it wasn't unusual for him to sleep back to back with his companion...or at least this particular companion. It was hard to say when their sleeping arrangement had first been established but it was completely natural now to drift off to sleep with the feeling of Temari's back against his. While he didn't know her feelings on the matter, having a tactile sense of where she was gave him comfort. Usually, the sounds and feeling of her gentle breathing relaxed him into an almost comatose state.

Being jostled from a peaceful sleep wasn't something Shikamaru was used to, particularly when Temari was involved since he considered those sleeps some of his best.

He thought that she was shivering and kicked himself for not bringing more blankets. They were heading to the land of iron, notorious for its icy temperatures and it wasn't exactly fair to ask Temari to bring thick blankets when she had to cross the desert before meeting up with him.

As he sat up and turned to face her, he was already unbuttoning his jacket. If his mom had drilled any lesson into him it was to always be chivalrous, especially to women. Also, he didn't exactly trust that Temari wouldn't wake up in 'attack mode' and elbow him in the face should he suddenly put his arms around her.

For the first time he took a good look at her and realized that she wasn't exactly shivering. It was more like shaking. Her entire face was scrunched up as though she were in pain. He also noted a fine sheen of sweat that had gathered at her hairline. The last time he had seen someone look like this they had been poisoned. But he knew there was no chance of that here.

Temari was obviously having a nightmare. And he was the one almost paralyzed, not being able to do anything but watch. Shikamaru was torn between waking her up and waiting to see if she would settle down on her own.

Wasn't there a saying? Never wake someone from a nightmare or maybe it was never wake a person sleepwalking.

He didn't have any use for that knowledge, the heavy sleeper he was, so he hadn't bothered to commit it to memory.

However, the decision was made for him when Temari's hands shot up to her neck, as if she were strangling herself or trying to loosen some noose only visible in her dreams. Regardless, the combination of her hyperventilation and choking sounds was enough to get him to shake her shoulders. He was about to call out to her but she spoke first. Shikamaru would have second guessed what he'd heard had it not been said with perfect clarity.

"Please stop...Gaara..._Gaara_..._**Gaara**_!" Temari shot up to a sitting position.

Her eyes were wide and frantic as she took in her surroundings, slowly coming to the realization that she wasn't wherever she had been in her dream. Her skin was ghostly pale. Then she locked her sights on him. Shikamaru could pinpoint the exact moment she realized what had happened and where she was.

"S-sorry for waking you up," her voice was scratchy after yelling. "I'm fine."Obviously, she was still shaken.

No one could simply go back to sleep after something like that, even Temari.

If that weren't enough, the fact that she remained sitting and quivering pointed to the fact that she was anything but _fine_. His hand moved of its own volition to touch her upper arm. She jumped when they made contact, a testament to her underlying nerves.

"Temari," he tried his best to make his voice gentle, "are you okay?"

It wasn't his intention to get her to break down but, from experience, whenever he was truly upset that question never failed to get him to spill his guts. He wanted to know what was bothering her even though he had his suspicions. The corners of her lips pulled down. Her teal eyes were glassy with unshed tears. Shikamaru was so sure that she was about to start crying that he was surprised when she suddenly threw herself into his arms instead.

The position was really quite awkward, her leaning so far forwards just to wrap her arms around his neck, so he lay them back down so that they were facing each other. Temari's face was hidden in his chest so he couldn't read her facial expression. He couldn't feel any tears through his thick winter clothing either, so there was no way of telling what she was thinking.

"It was Gaara...the sand," her voice was muffled but he still understood. Shikamaru had already pieced together the probable cause of her nightmare. There were only so many scenarios that could involve Gaara, her pleading for her life and strangulation. Shikamaru had known Gaara back in the days where the tailed beast inside the boy's body controlled him completely. He had seen the sand from his gourd crush, strangle and dismember its victims. And Shikamaru didn't even want to think about all that Temari had seen over the years she'd been tasked as his babysitter and bodyguard. "Even though he's different now, I know he's changed and he would never...these dreams...I can't –

"You can't get rid of them," he finished once it became obvious she couldn't. This was worse than her merely being afraid of something her brother used to be. He knew Temari and she was being eaten up by guilt. She and Kankuro were the spokesmen for their brother, in his corner when no one else was. Shikamaru didn't know if he could persuade her that the nightmares she was having weren't an act of subconscious betrayal. However, he was certain she would be angry if he said they were a result of post-traumatic stress, even if he knew that was the truth.

"It shouldn't be like this. It shouldn't still be happening," the crack in her voice tells him she's finally succumbed to crying.

His hands run down her back, stroking up and down in an effort to be soothing. It was almost painful how hard she tried not to let any sound escape from her mouth. Shikamaru pulled back far enough to see her face and judged that, by the amount of tears, she should be openly sobbing. Temari didn't seem like the type of person who cried often or even once a year. Perhaps, this was as close to a break down as she had ever gotten. He was a little grateful that she was not crying loudly since he already felt horrible enough listening to her stifled cries.

Really, he shouldn't be thinking about himself at all.

Temari's pain was much greater than anything he was feeling so he let her cry as long as she needed to. Who knows how long it had been since she had let go like this? Temari had helped him so much that the least he could do was be here for her now. Whether she knew it or not, she was always encouraging him, pushing him forwards, be it with angry quips or offhand words. Shikamaru relied or her more than ever. Recently, it was beginning to feel like he was taking advantage of her.

While he found himself constantly seeking the assurance of her presence, Temari never seemed to need him. Of course she wanted to be with him. He would even go as far as to say she was in love with him, though she hadn't yet voiced the words herself. But it never felt like she _needed _him. Shikamaru never thought he'd live to see the day when he wanted to be a shoulder to cry on, wanted a girl to come to him and complain about her troubles.

Temari moved and he noted that she had calmed down quite a bit. In fact, if he hadn't known she had been crying he wouldn't have thought anything was wrong. Her control was frightening. However, he theorized that it was probably the iron grasp she had on her emotions most of the time that eventually brought her to moments like this. Like a volcano, her feelings would sit and stew, slowly building pressure until one day everything exploded.

"No one can control what they dream about, you know, not even you." Her answering chuckle was devoid of any real humor. He found himself grimacing at the emptiness of it. Temari finally spared a glance at him.

"What?" She frowned at his reaction. "If I can't laugh or smile about it...this ends up happening," she finished half-heartedly. He was slightly taken aback that someone as straightforward as Temari felt the need to cover up her sadness with fake smiles; she wasn't Sai. Then he wondered. Had she ever done that with him? Looking back, all her smiles seemed so genuine and beautiful because they were uninhibited. In those moments she was almost childlike, which was extraordinary for someone so set on being composed all the time.

"It's alright. You shouldn't...I mean...What I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me about things."

He felt like an idiot.

The whole thing was awkward because he wouldn't normally do this heartfelt consoling type of talk. And, really, he shouldn't be telling her to open up to him when he's hardly spoken to her about the toll his mentor and father's deaths have taken on him. However, he wasn't the one waking up in the middle of the night terrified, or at least that's how he would justify it for now.

"I don't really like thinking about, never mind talking about, it."

"But you're reliving it." Shikamaru knew Temari was a logical being at heart, he saw the fight in her eyes as the idea of pushing all of this under the rug waged war with the thought of coming clean about what was bothering her. "So we're already kind of passed that now, yeah?"

"What do you want me to say?" she retorted curtly, sounding a bit more like her usual self. "I had to take care of two younger brothers, one of which had an unstable mind and psychotic tendencies. You already know that."

"Then what don't I know?" He wondered if he was asking too much.

The two of them are guarded people, what they show around each other is already stepping out of their respective comfort zones. Shikamaru watched her eyes glaze over and could only imagine what she was seeing; a decade's worth of fear.

"I had to look after Kankuro and Gaara, which really means I had to make sure they didn't kill each other; or rather that Kankuro didn't provoke Gaara and get us both killed. Whenever Kankuro had a nightmare he'd come into my room and we'd just lie awake for hours. I didn't know what to tell him. It wasn't like he was afraid of ghosts or something under the bed."

Shikamaru thought it awfully unfair that Temari had been left to care for children when she was just a child herself. Were there really no adults around? He gathered that her father was essentially absent but they must have had some kind of caretaker. And if her brother ran to her, than where did she go when she was afraid?

"Sometimes, at night, I could hear him out in the hall," her voice trembled. They were talking about Gaara now. "He'd be crying sometimes but I couldn't get myself to ask what was wrong. I wouldn't leave my room."Temari made a face as though she were disgusted by her past self which made Shikamaru want to shake her. It was self-preservation; she couldn't blame herself for that. "A couple times I woke up because he was somewhere in the house just laughing by himself." It sounded like some sort of horror movie to Shikamaru. "But other times," she carried on, her voice growing much quieter, "in the middle of the night I would see his shadow from underneath my door. He would just stand out there. I would stare at my door handle waiting for it to turn. I didn't sleep at all when that happened. Although, I must have fallen asleep one time because I woke up and there was sand in my room. It coated the floor and my dresser, everywhere, in my bed and in my hair. I hadn't even woken up at the sound."

Shikamaru doesn't question why she had nightmares of Gaara. Rather, he wondered how she managed to get any sleep at all. Shikamaru hadn't been able to suspend his judgment when he'd first met Gaara all those years ago. And although he had considered himself to be more mature than many his age, he had been certain that the kid from Suna was nothing more than an A grade psychopath. Shikamaru still didn't know what kind of magic Naruto had worked over Gaara because, before, the guy had found killing others his only reason to live. In short, his mind had been unhinged.

"You're not saying anything," Temari's voice and subsequent loosening of her hold on him made Shikamaru respond quickly.

"No, I was just taking everything in. Gaara really was terrifying."

"But he's not anymore!" her frustration was evident. Shikamaru tugged her closer despite the very real possibility that she would resist.

"You keep saying that. So now that he's not _like that_," he stopped himself from saying crazy in the nick of time, "your fear is misplaced?" Shikamaru didn't need a verbal response to know that he'd hit a bull's-eye. Geez, what was it about this woman? She was usually so self-assured and confidant. She acts so tough that most people believe she's made of metal. Then she goes and does something like this. She's afraid of causing her brother any more pain so she hides the fact that her nightmares showcase his face. How backwards is it, mercilessly condemning herself for being traumatized?

She's so foolish...and so deserving of love.

Unexpected fragility, she'd said that with reference to him once; he feels those words could be tossed back at her.

"He wouldn't blame you. I know he wouldn't. You weren't wrong to be afraid back then and, just because it's in the past now, you shouldn't blame yourself for remembering what happened to you." The urge to rub the back of his neck, a nervous habit, struck him. "I have no personal experience to back up any of what I'm saying," he pushed on hurriedly, "but repressing it hasn't helped. Just talking about it, well it won't fix anything overnight, but one day it might." He wished he could go back in time and be there when she really needed someone most. He wished she had grown up in Konoha but then she wouldn't be the Temari he knew.

"I sound so dumb when you say it like that."

"You're not dumb!" He made sure she looked him in the eye because he needed her to believe what he was saying. "We wouldn't be together – we wouldn't even be friends if you were. I know that you know you're smart too. You've just been stuck in the same pattern of thinking for a while." She didn't say anything but it looked like she was calmer when she closed her eyes once more and shuffled in a little closer.

For a while he allowed himself to let his mind wander and just focused on her breathing that was becoming more and more even as the time passed. Holding her close was its own sort of therapy. Well, he definitely wasn't a therapist but it doesn't take a lot for the genius to decipher that the girl in front of him is a suffering perfectionist.

There is a scarcity issue in her world; never enough. Never smart enough, strong enough, safe enough, certain enough and at the bottom of it all is 'I am not enough'. And if she looks perfect, does it perfect, works perfect, and lives perfect somehow she'll be able to avoid or minimize shame, blame and judgment.

While their insecurities may deviate in some areas, Shikamaru can understand the shame and the reluctance to accept vulnerability. He has been there and lived it; the fear that if the world can see him for whom he really is he won't measure up. It was so much easier to not try in the first place, act lazy and pretend nothing fazed him. He numbed all those emotions he didn't want to feel. But the thing was, and he quickly found out, no one can selectively numb an emotion. No one can simply numb loss without numbing joy and gratitude and love. It took Asuma's guidance, it took his father tearing into him and it took Temari beating him with that giant fan of hers to finally drill that message into his thick head.

It is an honor that she has chosen to share so much of herself with him already. He wants to be someone she can have authentic conversations with. Through thick or thin, he knows that she has his back. And it's important to try and become that same kind of support for her. Somehow, someday, he'll be able to convince her that it wasn't her 'I've got it all together' attitude that drew him to her but the softer, vulnerable side that he felt a connection with.

Temari has had a rough life but so have many other people and even if Shikamaru's gut reaction is to try and fix her problems, tidy up the mess others have made, slap a band-aid on it and call it a day, he can't. Better yet, he won't because it would be a disservice to the both of them.

He tucks her head underneath his chin and resumes rubbing her back. If there's any message he wants to impart on her, it is this.

"You are enough."

Temari doesn't move or make a sound. He's fairly certain she's fallen asleep once more but that doesn't matter. He has the rest of their lives to prove it to her.


	65. Possibly the Worst Dinner in History

This moment in time would plague her for the rest of her life. It was one of those occurrences that people would love to bring up at her expense during a dinner party to try and get a few laughs.

No matter how hard she may try to keep the events of tonight secret, Temari knew that it would be a lost cause. Two of her friends worked at this hospital.

Without a doubt, her future children would one day hear that story of how their mother had almost killed their father the first time she cooked for him. Temari held her head as she imagined the scene with crystal clarity.

The obvious thing for people to assume would be that the dinner she made had been so bad that it had given Shikamaru food poisoning.

Temari bristled at the thought. Many people naturally presumed that, just because she was a successful shinobi, she had no domestic capabilities. Why couldn't kunoichi have a notable career and still have a feminine side? No, she hadn't given him food poisoning. In fact, Temari had spent several weeks perfecting an old curry recipe of her mother's that had been her favourite as a child.

How could she have known that Shikamaru was allergic to one of the several traditional spices from Suna she had put in the dish?

For the first few seconds she had been frozen as the reaction took over his body. It had only taken a couple of bites before Temari realized that Shikamaru was drinking much more water than he normally would. At first, she had thought he was someone who couldn't handle spicy food and just as she had been about to tease him for that she noticed small hives rising on his arms.

Before too long the hives had turned into welts that were started to appear around his mouth as well. It had taken the sound of him gasping for air to knock some sense into her.

That run to the hospital had broken her personal record.

A medic had quickly administered Shikamaru a shot filled with epinephrine to open the airways in his lungs minutes after they arrived. The effect had been instantaneous. Temari had collapsed backwards onto a chair in the corner of the room deeply relieved. Vaguely she can recall the nurse coming in at one point to talk about anaphylaxis, over reactive immune systems and scheduling an allergy test in the future.

Throughout all of this Temari could only process her guilt and the embarrassment that had crept into every pore of her being. She could barely stand to look Shikamaru in the eye.

"I'm so sorry." Her need to express, in part, the guilt that was consuming her was the only thing that gave her enough courage to look up to where he was resting.

She was pleased that his complexion was almost back to normal, not red or blue. Little red bumps still dotted his arms but otherwise he looked fine.

"You didn't know," he said.

His voice was brittle and raspy, like he'd had a sore throat for a week. It made her feel even worse.

"That doesn't make it any better."

"I didn't know I had any allergies either." He shrugged nonchalantly. "What are you guys growing in Suna anyways?" Temari appreciated his humorous attempt to get her mind off of what could go down in history as the most disastrous dinner ever. He closed his mouth when he saw the guilt flash through her eyes once more.

How could anything make her feel better about this, she thought? She had such great aspirations for tonight. At the very least, she had planned to impress him not send him to the hospital.

"Don't worry about it, Temari."

"You could have suffocated! I'm allowed to worry about that." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, like her point wasn't valid.

"I'm not dead." At least she could comfort herself with that knowledge.

Now she just had to deal with the fall out. If Kankuro ever got wind of this he would bust a rib laughing. The eldest of her two brothers and Ino were probably the two people she wanted to hide this from the most, the later mostly because of her loose lips regarding anything to do with gossip.

"You don't have to downplay the seriousness of this for my sake." She said. Temari didn't know how she wanted him to react.

He could laugh at her but that wouldn't really be in character for him. Earlier she had talked herself into believing she would feel better if he got angry but, the longer she thought that, she realized that probably wouldn't help either.

Shikamaru hoisted himself up into a sitting position, as if to demonstrate his returning health. He fixed his levelled gaze on her and Temari felt inclined to get up from her chair and sit beside him.

"I won't tell anyone," he promised.

There it was. Underneath all that griping and sighing, was the person who was sensitive to her feelings. At the end of the day he would always try to make her happy in his own odd sort of way; and it wasn't because he was afraid of her, like she used to think.

"It's okay," she sighed. "Even I can admit, after the fact, that it's kind of funny." Temari turned her head towards him and found that his eyes were closed and his hands were in that odd steeple pose which meant he was thinking.

"Hmm," he grunted before nodding his head in affirmation, as if he'd made a decision. "I can't let people know that I survived a war only to almost be done in by a bowl of curry."

"You're making fun of me now," she deadpanned. Though his eyes didn't reveal much, Temari swore she saw a spark of mischief there.

"I agreed not to tell anyone else. I never said that I would let you forget it. You still call me cry-baby and now I finally have something to level the playing field with. I can't just give away this golden opportunity." They were back to teasing each other she guessed.

Shikamaru was obviously enjoying himself, unaware of her dual urge to smack him upside the head and to pull him closer.

"You're a bully." She pouted in spite of herself.

"If _I'm_ a bully than what are you?" He asked with a quirked brow.

He had a point. She was infinitely worse when it came to bringing up the past. Temari honestly didn't have an answer to his question.

Instead, she just stared him. They appraised each other in mutual silence until a new but familiar tension began to build in the small room. Temari felt her heart flutter lightly, as it always did, when he started to lean in towards her. The outside world seemed to shrink the closer he got.

But they are were in a hospital at the moment; did she really want to get caught in a lip-lock with the man she had brought in here by some nurse? The answer comes to her instantaneously. Who cares?

Their foreheads were touching and she could feel his breath on her face. Just as she was about to throw caution to the wind and close the tiny distance between them, a thought entered her mind like a bolt of lightning.

Panicked, Temari pushed Shikamaru away with so much force that he toppled off the hospital bed and fell unceremoniously onto the floor. With great breathes, Temari tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. What a narrow escape! Shikamaru looked completely stunned. His mouth had fallen open and he looked at her like she had completely lost her mind. He was more confused than hurt by her actions.

"I haven't brushed my teeth since we got here." She explained. However, Shikamaru still didn't understand. "I ate the curry as well. If you kissed me you could have had another allergic reaction." Her point appeared to have gotten across when Shikamaru sighed and grimaced.

"How troublesome."


	66. Shikadai's Exam

The tension in the arena was so thick it was uncomfortable. Not a sound was made as everyone watched the Leaf's hokage disqualify his own son from the chuunin exams.

Temari could understand why Boruto would be disqualified for the use of a ninja tool that had been outlawed from the examinations, as it put the user at a clear advantage. It was cheating plain and simple. But the way the seventh dealt with his son's wrongdoing, tearing the Konoha forehead protector off of Boruto's head, publicly scolding him in front of the whole arena, even Temari felt that was a bit harsh.

Her heart clenched at the look on Boruto's face. The relationship between Boruto and his father was strained, though she had only heard what Shikamaru and Shikadai had told her. Temari watched the scene unravel before her with baited breath.

She knew that Shikadai wouldn't be happy with his win. Shikadai valued fair play but Temari had the feeling he would have rather Boruto win their match, if only to spare his friend the shame of being discovered.

Now Shikadai was like his father in yet another way; a reluctant winner of the chuunin exams.

Idly, Temari wondered if there was a limit as to how much a child could resemble their parent. Shikadai watched the exchange between Boruto and his father with an impassive face. As his mother though, Temari knew he was very disappointed.

Her attention was diverted from Shikadai when she noticed a man in a white lab coat, followed by another man holding a camera, walk into the arena. Temari gritted her teeth, as if the kid needed to feel any worse about what he had done.

These adults had no decency.

The man being filmed had a square face and wore blue glasses, something about him just made her think 'slimy'. Grandly, he announced to everyone that Boruto had used a scientific ninja tool. From the way he was advocating the use of the tool, Temari could only imagine that this man was in fact its inventor. How low, she thought, playing on the insecurities of a child to promote a product.

Without any warning, another two figures dropped into the arena from the opened roof above.

And the spectators started murmuring amongst themselves. She didn't even know what to call them when the smoke cleared. One was impossibly large, both ghostly pale. Did 'man' suffice, did 'human'? Whatever sort of beings they were those two were surely dangerous.

Temari stood up from her seat as she watched the hokage step protectively in front of his son. Shikadai quickly jumped to stand next to the two of them, Rock Lee positioned slightly in front.

The giant raised its fist and smashed it down to the stone floor. In a split second, all of Temari's plans to run down to Shikadai were derailed. Fissures created by the impact had cracked the foundation of the arena so that the ceiling was collapsing down on all the spectators.

People were screaming. Children were crying. It was utter chaos as people trampled over one another to find an exit.

A particularly large piece of the rooftop in the section she was in with Sakura and Ino started to careen down towards them. Sakura managed to break the portion into smaller bits with her super-human strength. At this point, Temari was able to send the debris flying with her fan.

"Our top priority at this point is to prevent any casualties," Sakura yelled towards her and Ino.

Temari nodded in agreement but her eyes desperately searched the terrified crowd for Shikadai. She easily found Gaara. Her youngest brother was using his sand to prevent people from getting crushed. Kankuro was not too far away from him. He was able to use the same type of chakra strings he used with his puppets to pull people away from danger.

While she ran towards the centre of the arena, Temari continued to use her wind jutsu. It was difficult to battle her way through the throngs of people who were running in the opposite direction. She shouted at some who were petrified, too shell-shocked to move, to get to safety. Sweat started to form on her forehead as the stadium got emptier and emptier and still she couldn't find her son. Of course her mind instantly got to work on imagining the worst case scenarios.

What if he was injured somewhere? What if he got trapped by some of the rubble?

The closer she got to the middle the more unstable her surroundings became. Temari didn't even care that she was running towards the source of all this destruction. Almost all of the civilians were gone now, so she was on her own mission. It felt like for every step she took she was batting away something or other with her fan. Though it was exhausting, it didn't stop her from calling out for Shikadai.

For a couple seconds, she paused to look around once more. Panic started to win over logical reasoning. What kind of mother was she? To hell with the falling roof, she should have gone to save Shikadai first.

Temari didn't even notice the looming shadow fall over her before it was too close to dodge. One of the pillars had come loose and was falling soundlessly towards her. Instinctively, she turned her head to look at the gigantic stone beam. Temari scrunched her eyes shut awaiting the impact.

She had heard from others who had near death experiences that the world seemed to slowdown. Temari could faintly hear someone shouting in the distance. Then she noticed a strange sensation in her legs. All of the sudden, she was being flung forwards not of her own volition. She stumbled a little before she collided into something solid.

The crash of the pillar hitting the ground behind her was deafening. After that, she registered the arms constricting her and the feeling of someone else's ragged breathing.

Temari tried to pull back but she didn't have enough strength to do so in this position. Her eyes wandered to the floor where she noticed that her feet were attached to her saviour's by a shadow.

Of course they were.

"I called out to you! Why didn't you move?" He angrily demanded. Temari realized that he wasn't actually mad, just frightened that she had almost gotten herself flattened because of her wandering mind. Temari wanted to apologize for scaring him. Her own heart was still beating painfully in her chest with the adrenaline of such a narrow escape.

Finally, she managed to step away to look at Shikamaru head on. His appearance was dishevelled and his eyes were unusually intense. Temari grabbed onto his upper arms, probably squeezing too hard.

"Shikadai," it was the only thing she could say.

But she didn't have to finish, he already knew what she was asking.

"He's safe. He's already outside. Lee got him out." Temari let out a shaky breath of relief. Her body suddenly felt weightless as all of her anxiety disappeared.

"Where is he?"

"Come on," he grabbed her hand, "it's not safe in here anyways." For a moment she watched his eyes trail down to where Naruto, Sasuke and their children stood in a faceoff with these new enemies. He seemed conflicted for a moment before he turned around and pulled her with him.

* * *

Impromptu medical tents have been set up a short distance away from the arena.

They reminded her of what had been used during the war. Temari frowned as she observed people being treated for injuries ranging from small cuts to broken limbs. Most of the genin who had been participating in the exams were now helping the medic ninjas.

Clouds had now blocked out the sun, adding to the sombre mood. With each step they took Temari clung more tightly to Shikamaru's hand.

Then she saw Shikadai.

He was carrying some medical gauze towards one of the tents a short distance off. She broke away from Shikamaru and ran towards him without a thought. Shikadai looked up just at the last second before he was enveloped in her arms. All the gauze fell to the ground.

"Mom?"

He seemed genuinely confused by her reaction to seeing him. Temari brought him closer. One hand was wrapped around his waist, the other on the back of his head. Her face was in the crook of his neck. He brought his arms up around her hesitantly.

If any of Shikadai's friends were around, she was probably embarrassing him. But she couldn't help it. No matter what happened or how old he got, the simple fact remained the he was her baby and she would always want to protect him. A few tears trickled from her eyes as the last bits of fear dissolved.

"Mom," Shikadai was even more concerned when he felt the wetness on his neck.

"I'm sorry," she let go, rubbing her eyes and forcing herself to smile. "I was just worried."

Shikadai still seemed uncertain. Temari couldn't blame him. She did not think she had ever cried in front of Shikadai before. Temari felt that part of her job as a parent was to remain strong for her child. The sight must have made him uncomfortable. By this time, Shikamaru at his more leisurely pace had caught up to them.

Temari sensed his presence behind her before he placed a hand on her lower back. Instantly, she relaxed under his touch. As she took in the sight of the two most important men in her life, her eyes stung again but she refused to cry again. Their small family unit together again was enough of a reason to hold back her tears and be happy.

"Shouldn't we go after the seventh and Boruto?" Shikadai questioned.

He was looking expectantly at his father, green eyes blazing with determination. Her heart skipped a beat as a wave of dread washed over her.

"Absolutely not," the words were out of her mouth before she could think of a more diplomatic answer.

However, she still held conviction in her answer. Her son would have to get past her first if he wanted to run off. While Shikadai was exceptionally skilled for his age, he wouldn't be any match for her.

"We can't just turn our backs on them," Shikadai debated.

Temari met his defiant stare with a fierce look of her own. She huffed in irritation when she realized Shikadai wouldn't be backing down. Unlike Shikamaru in his youth, Shikadai was very stubborn.

Temari turned to Shikamaru with an expectant look that read '_say something to him_'. Shikamaru and Shikadai seemed to speak the same language. Honestly, Temari didn't know how she could have raised that child if he hadn't been there. Their minds worked in the same way.

"I know you want to help your friends." Shikadai snapped to attention as his father addressed him. "I want to help the seventh as well. But sometimes we have to ask ourselves where we are most useful to our friends." As Shikamaru's words sank in Temari could see her son failing to combat the air tight logic of his father's words.

"But...," Shikadai tried to protest.

"The seventh and Sasuke are the strongest shinobi we have. There's nothing we can do to help them in the way of fighting. But when those two are gone it's up to us to help run the leaf village." Shikadai's resolve finally crumbled. He knew the responsibility that Shikamaru carried in this scenario. As the acting hokage his father didn't really have to time to be chasing after him, should he rashly decide to run after those who attacked the village.

The boy stiffly nodded his head in understanding.

"We have medicines that can help the people here. Let's go home Shikadai," Temari urged. Shikadai turned on his heels quickly, still slightly irritated but compliant with her wishes. Before she could follow him, Shikamaru held her back.

"I've called a meeting with the village elders."

"I understand." She hadn't expected him to go back home with them.

Temari could see how stressed he was already and gently squeezed his hand in reassurance. He bent over and pressed a chaste kiss to her temple.

"Come find me when you're done, okay?"

"Of course," she smiled. Temari waited till Shikamaru walked back towards the hokage's office before turning around.

* * *

_Note: Thanks to everyone who keeps reading. I know I've been updating slower than usual. I've been recovery from surgery and trying to keep up with summer courses. I have at least 3 or 4 chapters that are just sitting around, waiting for me to finish them... So thank you. As always, ideas and prompts are welcomed and greatly appreciated. _


	67. Denial and Epiphanies

_Shikamaru's point of view from **intervention **(Chp. 60)_

* * *

Shikamaru sat languidly in his chair not having a good feeling about this meeting. A sinking suspicion in his mind told him that he was not going to enjoy this.

At least he got lunch out of it.

But anytime Ino pulled him to the side like this it usually entailed an hour's worth or more of her hardened look in her eyes told him that he had upset her somehow and was now going to hear about it.

"We need to talk." She said seriously.

Her tone of voice surprised him. Shikamaru wondered if maybe this time there was actually something important to talk about. His teammate pressed her lips into a firm line.

Ino looked conflicted as she tried to find the right words. Shikamaru stopped eating as he eagerly waited for her to continue.

"It's about Temari."

"What about her?" An uncomfortable feeling of precipitating calamity spread throughout his body.

Something had happened.

Suna could be in danger or maybe it was one of her brothers. God forbid if it were her. Reflexively, he leaned forwards, anxiously waiting for Ino to explain further.

"It's about _you _and Temari." He withdrew into himself immediately.

It irritated him incredibly that Ino would ambush him like this and make him believe that Temari was somehow in trouble. He was not having this conversation with anyone, least of all her.

He hardly allowed his own mind to contemplate those sorts of things. It wasn't difficult for him to shut down and tune out.

"I think you should tell her how you feel," Ino said impatiently.

Shikamaru scoffed bitterly. She had no idea what she was talking about. It wasn't like she spoke from a place of experience.

All those unrealistic romantic comedies she'd watched had completely distorted her conception on what a relationship should be.

"Everyone else already knows you like her."

He was doubtful of that. People may have their suspicions but he'd never actually confided in anyone.

"There's nothing holding you back," she exclaimed with exasperation. He fisted his hands underneath the table. _Everything was holding him back_. It was so complicated that it made his head hurt.

And there Ino sat, downplaying almost a year's worth of strife he'd put himself through, as if it were nothing.

It made him angry.

"I am _not _having this conversation with you," he lashed out. He hoped that his words stung. He wanted her to give up, stop bothering him. If he was mean enough to her she would leave eventually.

"We _are _having this conversation Shikamaru!" She protested hotly, drawing looks from people around them. Her eyes were on fire. He was taken aback by how adamant she was.

Why did this matter so much to her?

"Face it, Chouji and I know you best but he's too kind hearted to give you a taste of reality. I'm the only one who will so you can just sit there and listen to me." Ino was breathing heavily by the time she finished. Shikamaru was shocked, feeling like he had just been scolded by his mother.

"You're in denial." With that, his surprise vanished. The anger returned with a vengeance.

"I'm not in denial," he protested.

His reply was too quick. It was a rookie's mistake. But he would rather keel over right now that let Ino pull a confession out of him.

"What? Is there something wrong with her? Is she not good enough for you?"

"No! Of course not, why would you think that?" Shikamaru was certain this was the response she wanted out of him. But he couldn't handle Ino thinking that he was somehow looking down on Temari.

"So you like her then."

"Yes!" His heart lurched as he realized what he'd said. "I mean no!" He hastily covered up his mistake, furious that he'd been played. "Ino," he said seriously, "whatever it is you're doing stop it." The blonde pouted and scrunched her face. "Everyone is always nagging about this; it's such a pain. There is _nothing_," he emphasized, "going on between me and her, okay?"

His teammate was very still for a moment. Her silence allowed him to reign in his temper. Had he finally gotten through to her?

"Okay," she said quietly.

Shikamaru could actually feel his muscles sag in relief.

"You can sit here and deny everything."

He opened his mouth, fully intent on setting her straight but she held up her hand.

"Are you going to be okay with the alternative?" Shikamaru's head was beginning to throb. He was frustrated enough. He didn't need Ino to start talking in riddles.

"What are you going on about now?" he ground out.

"She's very pretty, you know?" she stated forlornly, as if that fact was supposed to make him sad.

He tried to figure out what her angle was. Shikamaru didn't need Ino to tell him that Temari was attractive.

And if Ino thought he was so infatuated with the other girl wouldn't she have assumed that he had already noticed how attractive she was.

"She's smart and courageous," Ino continued. "She had a good reputation with high ranking officials in almost every village and everyone can see how caring she is by how she looks out for her brothers." Shikamaru didn't want to look into Ino's eyes as she rattled off all the things he already knew about Temari.

"Someone else will notice her." The words were like ice water down his back. "It might not happen right away, maybe in a couple years, but it will happen." He didn't want to hear this. Did it not occur to Ino that his own mind had been whispering these very words to him for months? "And when it does," she pressed on unaware of his turmoil, "when she's happy with some other guy and getting married, will you be able to smile and give them your blessing?"

It was a twisted picture of an appalling future Ino had painted and the masochistic part of him ate it up greedily.

For a moment in time, he was transported to Suna in his mind. Temari was dressed in white. She was beautiful, as always. All around her were friends and family extending their congratulations.

He watched her, enraptured by the beaming smile on her face and the light in her eyes. Slowly he dragged his feet forwards. He knew he had to congratulate her as well, it was only polite.

In his daydream he turned his head to the imaginary husband he had concocted for her. It stings. And he couldn't bring himself to put a face to the nonexistent man. He focused on Temari instead.

She looked him straight in the eye, unabashed, expectant.

"I could do it," _but only for her sake. _He shook his head to rid himself of the picture.

"I see. Then I guess you would be able to go on with no regrets," she pressured him, "there wouldn't be any awkwardness at union meetings. Shikamaru turned his head to look out the window of the restaurant unseeing.

"You wouldn't mind watching her and that man's child compete in the chuunin exams?"

The effect was so sudden.

Pain coursed through every inch of him. More than anything else Ino has said today, those words had hit him the hardest. His mind wouldn't even conjure up the image.

It refused.

The chuunin exams are _theirs. _

That arena was where they met, where he first was puzzled by how a woman could be so troublesome and yet so intriguing. And he couldn't let anything tarnish that.

"Look Shikamaru, I know you're mad at me but you have to hear the truth. I wish there had been someone able to convince me that going after Sasuke was...but there wasn't."

Shikamaru was too caught up in his own anguish to hear the defeat in her tone.

"This isn't about me though and it's different for you. You have a chance!" she exclaimed with so much passion that it was impossible to keep ignoring her. "She _likes_ you."

His heart fluttered uncontrollably. The distress was replaced by a hesitant fragile hope.

"Ino," he sighed, "you don't even know her." He couldn't get his expectations up.

"Maybe I don't know Temari that well," she conceded, "but I do know girls and I know that she likes you. The two of you are the only ones who don't seem to get it," she muttered the last part.

For the first time in a long time, Shikamaru allowed his mind to entertain the thought without feeling guilty.

He let himself believe that the smiles and looks Temari gave him were different than what she showed to other people, that he was someone special to her.

"I'm not saying that you need to do anything now." Ino's voice brought him back to the present. "But I don't want to see you get swept aside just because you didn't say anything to her."

Shikamaru could understand where Ino is coming from now. When he woke up this morning he hadn't expected to experience such a wide range of emotion. Ino was doing this for him. She was smart, more than he gave her credit for.

He felt like shit but maybe she knew he had needed to feel like this to move forwards.

"Just think about, okay?"

She was right. He had been feeling defeated before he was even a player in the game. It was going to be difficult, a real pain.

Shikamaru rose from his chair. There were a lot of things he needed to think about.

"Ino, thanks."


	68. Creepy Crawlies

"Shikamaru," he heard Temari call out to him from their bedroom. Her tone was levelled but it also held an underlying note of panic.

He instantly recognized it as the voice someone might use if they had seriously injured themselves but had gone into shock. Quickly, he was up and off the couch, rushing to where she was.

"What is it? What happened?"

When he reached the doorway to their bedroom, his eyes sought hers out. She didn't seem to be hurt but her expression said that something was clearly wrong. Shikamaru cocked his head to the side in confusion, waiting for her to explain. Without a word, Temari raised her hand and pointed to the upper corner of the room.

That's where he found it; a medium sized, black, long legged spider.

For a few seconds he didn't understand. But when it hit him, there was no way to hold back his laughter.

"Could you just kill it?" Temari asked impatiently.

She folded her arms across her chest in discomfort. Her cheeks were also slightly pink with embarrassment. Who would have guessed that she would have such a stereotypical girly fear? To be fair, he wasn't entirely keen on spiders either but only the really big ones gave him trouble. The one in their room right now was hardly something to be afraid of.

"You're scared of spiders?" He chuckled, making no move to capture the bug. Temari glared sourly.

"I'm not afraid of them," she denied hotly, "I just...don't like it when they move around." She mimicked a spider's scuttling legs with her fingers.

He wanted to laugh so badly. But Temari was being completely serious. His stomach hurt because of how hard he was restraining himself.

"This one isn't moving," he pointed out the obvious.

"Yeah, well, it could. And I'd rather it be dead before it has the chance."

Even now, as she spoke, her eyes kept flitting back up to the spider, keeping tabs on it. He suspected she was afraid it would suddenly jump at her.

"Aren't there huge spiders in the desert? I would have thought you'd be used to them by now and definitely not bothered by a little guy like this." Honestly, whenever he travelled to the desert, spiders weren't the bug he was most afraid of. He was more fearful of the scorpions than anything else.

"My brothers, well Kankuro mostly, always took care of them for me. He's had a weird fascination with spiders ever since he was a kid. He used to walk around the house, looking under sofas and into the closets, trying to find them."

It was a pretty weird explanation. Then again, one of Kankuro's puppets had a lot of arms. So maybe he based that off of a spider. It sort of made sense.

"Are you going to kill this thing or not?" Temari's nervous yet demanding tone brought him back to their conversation.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'll put it outside."

He walked back out into the kitchen to get a cup and a newspaper. When he got back to their room, Temari was turned around with her back to the spider. She _really_ must not like the way they crawled about.

Temari would be hard pressed to ask him for his help when they were fighting enemy shinobi but she all but begged him to kill a spider.

That girl needed to get her priorities sorted.

The spider was all too easy to capture. As he had suspected, it ran about in the cup, not understanding what was happening to it. '_Be thankful_' he thought '_if she had dealt with you, you'd be squashed_'.

"Do you want to see it?" He couldn't help himself. The prospect of teasing her a little more was too tempting.

"No! Don't you dare bring that thing over here! Put it outside!" She shouted.

Shikamaru playfully stepped forwards as if he were going to walk up next to her.

"Stop, stop, stop," Temari shuffled backwards eyes closed.

"Fine," he smirked, walking outside to release the spider into the forest. Shikamaru watched it scuttle away into the night but frowned as a foreboding dark energy was felt behind him. He turned around and shivered at Temari's steely expression. Her eyebrows were pulled together and her lips formed a tight line.

"You are such a jerk," she huffed angrily.

Before he could respond, she marched forwards, grabbed the newspaper he'd used to collect the spider and began swatting him with it.

"Hey! It was just a spider." She took no mercy on him. "Ow! That was my eye." If he wanted to remain in once piece, he would have to do damage control. Not a job he looked forward to, almost every time, he would just make the situation worse. The odds of him sleeping on the couch tonight were higher than usual, he figured. "Okay, okay," he relented, "I'm sorry I scared you with the spider."

"And for making fun of me," she added. Well, he wasn't really sorry for that. It was hilarious. He never could have imagined her having such a commonplace fear.

"And for making fun of you," he conceded. It wasn't genuine but he said it anyways. It was safer for him to lie in this scenario. Temari rolled her eyes, instinctively knowing that he was clearly still amused about her wimping-out. "Just so you know, now that the weather is getting colder, there will be more spiders trying to get inside."

His warning made her face pale.

"Don't tell me things like that," she whined, covering her ears before turning on her heel, leaving him on the front porch alone. Shikamaru smiled openly at how she tried in vain to escape the conversation.

"Don't worry," he stood up to go follow her, "I'll protect you from the spiders."


	69. Fight

The house was eerily quiet when she stepped through the front door. Even for so late at night, there was something unnatural and unsettling about the stillness of it all. She took off her shoes and unstrapped her fan as quietly as she could.

With any luck at all he would be sleeping and she could have a few more hours to rehearse her story, though she doubted time would make her plead any better received.

She had really messed up this time.

Temari could own up to her mistake but the confrontation was something she'd been dreading since she left seven days ago.

A light was suddenly switched on in the living room and when no one walked out to greet her, Temari figured it was as good as being summoned. Her whole body was wound tight as she walked forwards. He was sitting in one of their large chairs; face slightly illuminated by a single lamp light.

His eyes were stubbornly refusing to look at her, choosing to focus on a spot on the floor, and she swallowed guiltily. On the table was a vase filled with flowers which had slightly wilted with time, making her feel even worse.

His eyes were so cold. Temari had never seen such a look on his face. She wanted to lie and say that this wasn't all her fault just so he would not glare at her.

"Shikamaru...," her voice was weak, on the verge of pleading. And she never begged.

He continued to ignore her presence. Temari winced as she felt the atmosphere in the room become heavier. His posture in the chair was rigid, as if he might explode at any minute.

"Shikamaru I am so sorry. I...," she held her tongue, unable find the right words. Reciting a preplanned speech would be wrong. It would only make things worse. She noted his clenched jaw and knew there wouldn't be any reconciliation tonight. Besides, she was tired from a three days journey.

"I know you don't want to talk to me right now. I'll get some of my things and stay with Ino."

She turned and took a deep breath to combat the tingling sensation that had already started prickle behind her eyes. She only got two steps away before her legs were completely restrained, frozen to the spot.

Her body was forced against her will to turn back around and face him. He wouldn't look at her but at least he had acknowledged her existence. Though she hated being held down like this, she would accept it as some form of punishment for her actions.

"Don't," his voice was much too loud for the calm night, "don't walk away again," he ordered.

She didn't see how she could; the hold of his shadows was absolute and not as gentle as she knew it could be.

"Why?" his tone was sharp and accusatory, yet she could sense the hurt underneath.

Now that he was paying attention to her, she felt the need to explain herself. Temari knew she had royally screwed up. It was awful to think of him here, all alone. But her mind couldn't form an answer to give him.

As his eyes pierced hers, Temari felt like she was being put on the spot, even though she'd had days to prepare for this moment. It was the first time she had ever cracked under pressure.

"You knew I would worry."

"Yes," she admitted meekly.

"But it wasn't enough to make you stay?" The acid in his voice stung. However, some frustration started to brew within her. None of this was as simple as he was making it out to be. Obviously, she hadn't wanted to hurt him.

"Kankuro was very sick," Temari said defensively, "I got the letter from Gaara himself. You know that!" Her voice was inching up in volume as she became more desperate to make him see why she had to leave. Still, he seemed immovable.

"And that's supposed to make it okay?" he finally shouted.

His face lifted to meet her gaze. His cheeks were tinged red with anger but his eyes weren't malicious they were betrayed. Shikamaru stalked forwards and brought her closer with every step by the shadow that connected them.

"He needed me," she protested, hating the quiver in her voice. She couldn't understand how Shikamaru was actually intimidating her. In hindsight though it figured, the only man who could make her cry was also one of the few who could instill some fear in her.

"You're not a medic. What he needed was a medic."

"He needed his family!" she yelled.

They were face to face now and she'd be surprised if he couldn't feel her breath. She certainly felt his.

"What about me? We're family now. You just left! You didn't tell me you were leaving or where you were going. All I got was a damn letter from Suna three days after you were gone!" Having all her mistakes out in the open was like being stabbed several times in the gut. While it had sounded bad in her head, it was so much worse hearing her wrongdoings from him.

"And I felt sick about this every day I was away; believe me."

"So what now," he asked sardonically, "whenever something happens to your brothers you're just going to pack up and leave? Am I supposed to play third wheel in our marriage Temari?"

"Shikamaru –

"No!" He cut her off harshly. "If it's me or them you'll choose them, won't you?" He was drawn to full height and his nostrils flared with each stinging word.

"Don't you dare give me an ultimatum!" she screamed, not caring if she woke the entire Nara compound.

Her mind was throbbing and in disarray. They had never fought like this before. And it suddenly dawned on her then why she was feeling so lost and out of control; they were truly fighting. They argued all the time but it had never escalated to this level before.

She had never been on the receiving end of such disappointment.

"You knew what my relationship with my brothers was like before we got married. You knew that I would have to go back to Suna eventually."

"Well, you picked a _great_ time to go for a visit," he sneered.

He was being spiteful because he was hurt. She had to remind herself of that. Temari knew she had made a choice. Still, she didn't know if it was the wrong one.

"You have no idea what it's like for me! You don't have siblings." She accused. "You didn't move away from your family. We're all that's left...so many times they've almost died and I wasn't there. I can't let that happen again." He scoffed lightly and her anger flared. "But you're the only one I have here and it kills me. It wasn't an easy decision for me to make. I was being torn in half! Don't you think I hate myself for doing this?"

She was utterly exhausted and not in the mood to fight, that was the only reason she began to cry. They were tears of frustration not of weakness she told herself. The shadow binding technique was released suddenly as if he'd just realized they'd gone too far. Temari couldn't help shuffling backwards. She needed the space if only to breathe properly again.

"Tem –

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She was blubbering like a fool but she couldn't make herself stop. Everything was a mess; she was a mess.

Their first year of marriage had been wonderful but it had also been hard.

She thought she knew how much she'd miss her brothers and the desert she'd called home for almost twenty-three years. When she heard that Kankuro was sick, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. She would be able to see them and get rid of her some of her homesickness. It had been so compelling but she was afraid of what Shikamaru would say.

Temari didn't know if he'd be able to tell how desperate she was to go back or if he'd understand without taking offence. And in a moment of total recklessness and stupidity, she reasoned that Shikamaru had been with her here in Konoha for almost a year so he could stand to share her a bit.

But no matter how hard she tried to justify herself Temari knew that whoever she'd have chosen she'd have been in the wrong.

She'd been a terrible wife. "I'm so, so sorry."

Even now, though unintentionally, her tears were manipulating him. She knows he won't be able to stand the sight of her crying so inconsolably. It had never been her intention to gain forgiveness like this. Nonetheless, he'll comfort her because that's just who he is, a good husband, far too good and forgiving for her. The touch of his familiar calloused hands on her arms was like electricity. She jumped.

"Temari," he tried again, cautious now.

"No! I don't deserve to be forgiven." Temari couldn't even bring herself to look at him. How was it that their roles were now reversed with him apologizing while she denied him?

No matter how upset she was with herself, she couldn't lie for very long. She wanted his touch.

* * *

It had taken several minutes for Temari to calm down and, once she had, she fell asleep almost instantaneously. Shikamaru didn't quite know where he stood anymore.

His mind was chaotic but his heart was finally feeling some relief. Even though his head told him not to succumb so easily, he couldn't deny that having her in his arms was an instantaneous comfort.

He wanted to forget this whole mess and pretend like tonight was just like any other but he also wanted to stay mad, but remembering her watering eyes made him feel like a villain.

Despite still being upset, he really hadn't meant to get so carried away.

It was always difficult to keep his wits about him when she was involved.

Her disappearance had hurt. He had been a wreck the first three days she had left. How could he not be? It was like Temari just disappeared out of thin air. He had a gut feeling as to where she'd gone but he couldn't be certain.

And then, when he had gotten her letter, that's when things really went downhill.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her, some he would have meant and others, horrible things, he would surely have regretted. He had wanted to hurt her like she'd hurt him. And as the days stretched on, in his darkest moment of doubt, he had wondered whether she'd return at all.

If he really dug down deep, Shikamaru could understand her twisted logic. Suna was still, in many ways, her home even though she resided here in Konoha. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that she missed her brothers. He saw it in her eyes every once and awhile.

What he didn't know was when he started to consider himself in a competition with her siblings. Selfishly, he wanted her happiness to stem from him so he had tried to keep her busy and entertained. With time, Shikamaru had hoped her attachment to the desert would dwindle.

Yet the opposite had happened. Like water being blocked by a dam, her feelings had just accumulated until she became desperate.

He said he was upset because she hadn't told him she was leaving and in a perfect world he would have been supportive of her decision to go.

But he would have tried to persuade her to stay and Temari knew that too.

Said woman shifted a bit in his grasp and Shikamaru repositioned his body on the couch to make her more comfortable. There was a crease in her brow that hadn't lifted since he'd first seen her tonight.

He had seriously thought it would be possible to carry out that conversation in a level headed manner. He had a bad habit of thinking he was more mature than he actually was.

Already, he was feeling guilty for yelling at her. It was when she'd suggested staying with Ino that something snapped. The thought of her leaving again was too raw. He had no idea what to do if she ever truly left for good. He was scared of going back to a time where he feigned disinterest in everything. Most of all, he was afraid of losing his closest confidant, perhaps the only person in this world he trusted explicitly with all manners of himself.

Temari groaned in her sleep and he wondered if he might be holding her too hard.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that her eyes were squeezed shut and her lips were marred by a frown. He rubbed her back in an effort to soothe her but it just seemed to make matters worse. He winced at the sound of her whimpering. Shikamaru had to strain his ears to make sense of her jumbled words.

"No...Please...don't leave," she mumbled.

Sometimes it was almost unnatural how in sync their thoughts were. Shikamaru marvelled at how his own fears had seemingly transferred to her. He gently shook her shoulders until she woke up.

"Hey," her eyes were red rimmed and she still looked out of it, "hey, it's alright. You were dreaming." The look she gave him said that nothing was alright. While he wanted her to regret her actions, he certainly didn't want her spiralling into a pit of blame and self loathing. "Temari I'm not mad, really."

"You're lying," her voice was small and tired.

"It figures, you're not the type of person who would be happy getting off easy but I'm not angry with you," she continued to look wary, "not anymore," he amended.

Temari was not looking any better but he didn't know what else to say, so they fell into silence. He hated this new awkwardness between them.

Both of them were unhappy with how they'd reacted but they'd forgiven each other, so why did it still feel like something was wrong?

How long would it take for them to be back to normal?

Shikamaru had no answer for any of his questions so he just held her closer.


	70. Attraction

From her place on the bed, Temari watched her friend brush out her long blonde hair which fell around her shoulders like a platinum waterfall. Ino was someone who always seemed to ooze confidence, even when she was down.

Temari had been holding back a question for the better part of an hour now.

It was an embarrassing one but, if there was ever a time to ask, it would be here, where it was just the two of them. Girls disclosed secrets and asked each other questions at sleepovers, right?

Honestly, Temari thought they were both a little old to be having a sleepover but she needed to expand her circle of friends in Konoha. Also, Ino had been so excited and she just couldn't bring herself to say no.

She was supposed to be reading a magazine but her eyes kept wandering up to where Ino was sitting at her vanity.

The other girl was taking a long time with the brush, granted she did have a lot of hair. Figuring it was now or never, Temari gathered her courage and just asked point blank.

"Ino how do you get a guy's attention?"

Ino's reflection's eyes widened with her sudden question. Already, Temari regretted saying anything. She was older. Wasn't she the one who was supposed to know this sort of thing, have the experience? Ino turned around in her chair to look at Temari head on. She couldn't fathom why Temari would ask her something like this.

"How do you mean?" Temari didn't know if Ino was simply being coy and teasing her or if the other girl truly didn't understand. She didn't quite know how to explain herself.

"Well, it's just that everywhere you go guys are looking at you. And I...I don't know how to do that," she admitted.

"I thought you were dating Shikamaru," she said with a threatening edge.

Ino's loyalties were obviously to her childhood friend. Temari wasn't surprised that the other was upset but she'd taken the question the wrong way.

"We are," she clarified quickly, "but it's been weeks since Naruto and Hinata's wedding and it just feels like nothing is going anywhere. Sometimes," she looked down faking interest in her fingernails, "I feel more like a friend or work colleague than a girlfriend."

Now that Ino realized Temari wasn't looking to impress anyone outside of Shikamaru, she was more relaxed. It might not be obvious for someone who hadn't grown up with him, but she knew how Shikamaru felt for Temari and she also had a hunch as to the extent of said feelings.

He would be absolutely crushed if Temari dumped him. And Ino would have to take his side and cut off all ties with Temari, which would be a shame as she'd really come to like her.

As Temari's nerves grated with the following silence, Ino contemplated her words seriously.

"You're asking me how to be attractive?" Temari noticed the twinkle in Ino's eye.

She was obviously flattered.

"I guess? It just seems so easy for you. Am I doing something wrong?"

She thought about all of the times she'd been out around Konoha with Ino. Men seemed almost subconsciously drawn to her. Was it her near symmetrical facial features or that slim figure that she was unafraid to flaunt with tight cropped shirts?

"What are you talking about?" Ino was surprised. Temari wasn't giving herself enough credit. But every woman went through a period where they felt self conscious about their body, she supposed.

"Well, my hair is untameable, my shoulders are too large to be proportionate and I know I could probably lose a few pounds."

"I'm going to stop you right there," Ino interrupted; actually angered by the way her friend was putting herself down."Most girls would kill to have your figure. I wish I had your legs. And, by that way, Shikamaru told me himself that he didn't understand girls who diet. You're a woman. You should look like a woman."

Temari still felt uncertain. It wasn't that she thought she was unattractive. Temari knew that she was pretty in a less conventional way.

She supposes it's a testament to Shikamaru's character and manners that he doesn't openly leer at her. But he hardly seemed to take notice of her appearance at all.

"There has to be something I'm not doing. You two have been friends for a long time you must've seen him checking out a girl at some point. You can tell me. I won't be upset."

Ino didn't really know how to proceed. She was sure that Shikamaru already found Temari attractive.

An initial spark of attraction was what drew two people together. After that, they got to know one another and form a relationship. It sounded like Temari was so lost that she would resort to copying any girl her teammate had spared a passing glance.

"You're that girl Temari. He's complained about women since he could talk. Every girl was always 'too troublesome' until you came along."

Temari felt relieved. She couldn't have held it against him for being interested in other people before her. But she had never liked anyone besides Shikamaru and it was comforting to know that it might be the same for him.

"I swear," Ino continued, "the first time I saw him walk you to the gates, his eyes followed your legs as soon as you turned around to leave."

Temari lay down and stared at the ceiling. She felt the bed dip when Ino joined her. Voicing her insecurities had actually made her feel better. It was also nice to hear them contradicted.

"I guess it's a good thing he doesn't stare at me like a piece of meat."

Ino chuckled and Temari felt the pull of a smile on her face.

"He's probably just afraid you'll send him flying. But if you really want to test him I have a pair of short shorts you could borrow."


	71. Twenty Three

Shikamaru watched with great amusement as Temari gracelessly roused from sleep. She groaned with discomfort and instantly reached up for her head.

He had a feeling she would be like this in the morning.

"So how does it feel to be twenty three?"

She shushed him instantly and tried to cover his mouth with her hand. Of course, her hearing would be sensitive right now. She probably had a wicked head ache too.

"I'm dead," she whined dramatically.

Shikamaru decided to take pity on her. He went to the kitchen for a glass of water and something to help her head. Who would have guessed that Temari of Suna would be such a light weight?

"Here," he passed her the glass. One catlike eye peaked out at him from behind the pillow with suspicion. "It will help," he promised.

Temari downed the water all in one go. She looked pretty miserable right now, nothing like she had looked last night. Apparently, she had never had a real birthday party before.

And Shikamaru couldn't let another year pass by without her having one, so with the help of a couple friends he had planned a party.

And did Temari ever make up for all those lost years.

"Why did you let me do this to myself?" Temari spoke into her pillow so it came out muffled.

In retrospect, he realized now that Temari wasn't the sort of person who went out with a group of friends for a night of fun. She was a self-proclaimed workaholic. Also, there had been a war going on for most of their lives. Being in her position, she really didn't have a whole lot of free time.

Therefore, it made perfect sense that she hadn't built up any sort of tolerance for alcohol.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a very handsy drunk?"

Temari looked absolutely horrified.

Could she really not remember anything that happened last night? Shikamaru tried hard not to laugh at her expression and kept his face stony. But she took his seriousness as something else.

"Oh god, did I molest some stranger last night?"

He was confused by her worry until he figured out that Temari thought he was keeping a straight face out of anger. He smiled at the misunderstanding.

"Unless I count as 'some random stranger' then no, you did not." He wanted to reassure her but Temari seemed only slightly less mortified.

"How bad was it? Actually, no," she quickly amended, "don't tell me. It was awful wasn't it? Tell me... but on second thought –

"Do you want to know or not?" he chuckled.

Temari sat up, wincing as she went. Her hair was a total mess. Even this disorientated embarrassed version of her was sort of endearing. It wasn't often that he had this kind of upper hand so he decided to have fun with it.

"How would you feel if I told you that you climbed on top of a table and professed your undying love for me in front of everyone?"

Her face turned white as the sheets they were both wrapped up in. While her face was priceless, for a second, he was actually concerned that her brain had short circuited. It looked like she was in shock until she spoke.

"I didn't," she begged some sort of higher power. Her eye willed his words to be untrue.

"Nah, you didn't," he confessed.

Silence, and then the dread was wiped clean off of her face and replaced by irritation. She hit him in the arm – hard – but he probably deserved that.

"You're such a jerk." Temari actually pouted, like a small child, before turning her head away and stubbornly refusing to look him in the eye. It was only an act, he knew. She wasn't seriously mad. Shikamaru ran a hand down her arm, trying to coax her into turning back around.

"Come one Temari, it wasn't that bad."

She turned around with a look that screamed '_You better not be lying to me again.' _He sighed.

"You talked to some friends at the start of the evening, drank more than you could handle, and then kissed me. No one cared. It's hardly the most scandalous thing someone's done at a party." That was true. However, Shikamaru did leave out some of the finer details, such what she had said and the manner in which she had kissed him.

Temari may not remember anything but the memory was still fresh in his mind.

* * *

The party was in full swing.

In all the commotion, he had lost his girlfriend for the last hour or so. How had the guest list gotten so large? In fact, he was certain this many people hadn't been invited. It was probably Ino and Sakura. A part of him wanted to get all of these sweaty bodies out of here but this party was for Temari.

He wouldn't ruin it with his selfish desire for it just to be the two of them. Besides, she would have other birthdays.

As if she had heard his inner thoughts, Temari suddenly appeared around the corner.

There was only time for him to note that she looked slightly unsteady on her feet before she hurtled herself towards him. The force almost knocked him down. He stumbled backwards.

"Whoa, is everything all right?" Temari only laughed.

This was so out of character for her that he'd believed, for a moment, she was upset. He was relieved. Temari's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, constricting him like a snake, and he had to maneuver himself out of her grasp to look at her head on.

An easy, uninhibited smile lit up her face beautifully. Her whole body seemed more relaxed somehow. But it wasn't until she clumsily tripped over her own feet that Shikamaru realized Temari was more than just tipsy.

He almost didn't catch her before she crashed to the ground. His eyes scanned the room for a safer spot. He noticed an unoccupied couch across the room.

"Ugh, why did I wear these stupid shoes?" Temari kicked off her heels and abandoned them on floor.

"Okay, come here," he took the brunt of her weight as she leaned on him the whole way to the couch.

"You were lost and I couldn't find you," she said above the volume of the blaring music.

She was still holding onto his hands which surprised him. When there were other people around, she was usually reluctant to touch him. Now here she was, gripping his hands, leaning in towards them.

It was like she'd forgotten what personal space was...not that he minded.

"How much have you had to drink?" She gave him a quizzical look before raising two fingers.

Shikamaru had a hard time believing her, seeing the state she was in.

But why would she lie? Did Temari even have the capacity to make things up right now? No, she was just a light weight.

"This is the best birthday party ever! And I've had a lot...well not _a lot _of birthdays."

Shikamaru waited patiently as she tried to string together a coherent sentence, slightly slurring her words. He didn't bother to point out that she had never had a party before so she was a little biased.

"You're welcome," he humoured her anyways.

Suddenly her eyes burned with determination. By now she was so close she was almost sitting in his lap.

"You don't understand." Both her hands came to hold his face. They were surprisingly cool to the touch, or maybe it was just him heating up. "You're, like, my best friend."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. The way she said it, her use of the word '_like_' as if she were a teenage girl, cracked him up.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Once he got started, it was so hard to stop. Shikamaru was curled over, clutching his stomach. He surprisingly wasn't hit for laughing at her.

Instead there was a bright glint in her eyes, the kind that promised the best sort of trouble.

Anticipation made him heady as she leaned in. Her lips were neither sweet nor hesitant. Her kiss was visceral and demanding of his full attention. Subconsciously he knew there were other people around them and that this technically wasn't really appropriate but she made it so hard to care.

If there was anything he felt guilty about, it was that Temari wasn't really herself right now.

"Temari," he pulled himself away with difficulty and tried to stop her. This could be considered taking advantage of her inebriated state, right? Even if he didn't initiate anything, he would still be in the wrong. "You don't know what you're doing."

"Huh?" Temari stared at him with unclear eyes and flushed cheeks.

Shikamaru wondered if any of what he was saying was reaching her.

"Your eyes are really pretty," she murmured. Nothing, she didn't acknowledge a single thing he said. Temari was already pulling at the collar of his shirt trying to move him closer. He was just lucky she didn't have her full strength right now.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" He muttered under his breath.

The feather light touches of her fingers playing with the hem of his shirt were maddeningly tempting. Calling on all of his willpower, Shikamaru took both of her hands by the wrist.

"Temari," his voice was gruff and sounded almost pained. Why did she have to stare at him with those half closed smoldering eyes? She really was a dangerous and troubling woman.

He was so very close to giving up and giving in. And his conscious was struggling with him every step of the way.

When her eyes closed, he thought she was playing with him. Shikamaru almost called out to her but her body suddenly slumped into his arms. His mind was totally void of thought for a moment. He couldn't comprehend how someone could go from being so suggestive, actively seducing him, to passed out cold.

This really wasn't good for his brain or his heart for that matter. The later felt like it was about to jump out of his chest.

Giving up, he fell backwards to lay on the couch, Temari sleeping on top of him blissfully unaware of his troubles.


	72. Last Chance

She stood watching Shikamaru thank her brother with a furrowed brow. The adrenaline was slowly leaving her body making her more conscious of her stomach wound and the dull pain which emanated from it. The suddenness and ferocity of the fighting moments ago had left her mind blissfully blank for a moment or two.

But she was definitely still mad at him.

Why was he giving Gaara some heartfelt speech about being in his debt? The fact that he looked even the slightest bit surprised at their coming to his aid was insulting to her. Even though she was still upset with him, there was no question that she would come to his side; she always did.

This whole ordeal in the land of silence, the secrecy and emotional turmoil, had nearly pushed her to the brink of madness.

Frustration and hurt, the same kind she'd felt during their spat at the shinobi union, swelled in her chest.

At times she seriously questioned why she did but she liked him.

Temari tried not to ruminate on it too much. By the time she was conscious of her feelings it was too late. They had silently crept up on her. Shikamaru had grown up since the war.

The newfound maturity he possessed made her really look at him. She liked that he stood up straighter, making the difference in their heights known. The way he spoke with confidence instead of derision made her proud of how far he had come. But above all she was drawn to his morality and the compassion he extended to almost everyone.

Shikamaru seemed to have everything she lacked – patience, tranquility, among other things – which was probably why she felt so attracted to him.

It was subtle, but she did act differently around him. Whenever they were both at the Union she would try to tweak her schedule just to spend more time with him. She took more care with her appearance. That had been going on for almost a year and despite all of her efforts, he didn't seem to notice or care, which stung.

Temari couldn't believe that, though discreet, he was completely oblivious to her tactics. He was supposed to be a genius. Since there was no chance her hadn't caught onto what she was doing, only one other option remained. He knew how she felt and chose to ignore it which made her want to run away and beat him simultaneously.

But she could do neither. She couldn't force him to feel the same way. In time, she reasoned, her feelings would disappear or at least lessen. They would still be friends.

And she had been holding onto that thought until two weeks ago when Shikamaru had all but told her to stay out of his business.

He hadn't said anything about what was happening in the land of silence. He hadn't opened up about his troubles even though she inherently knew something was off. Worse still, he had gotten irritated and told her not to pry into Konoha's private matters.

What Temari had always felt was an unspoken rule of their friendship had been broken.

Shikamaru put up a wall between them; pulled the '_different village_' card. She hadn't thought of him as a ninja from Konoha for years. He was simply Shikamaru. And she had hoped that he felt the same about her.

Thus her internal crisis began. How did he truly feel about her? Did he ever really see her as anything more than a colleague, a comrade with political benefits?

It was a testament to her loyalty, or her foolishness, that even after being cast away she had pushed ahead and came to his rescue anyways. But now that the fighting was over Temari could only wait awkwardly for everyone to say their piece before going their own ways.

No longer able to look at him, Temari focused her gaze upwards at the sky. Gingerly, her hand ran over her stomach where Sai had cut her under the influence of Gengo's genjutsu.

Reality was finally setting in. It was only wishful thinking on her part. She was trying to force herself into a narrative that didn't exist. And frankly she was exhausted, tired of getting her hopes crushed and yet still too scared to confess.

Temari broke free from her trance when Gaara told everyone they were heading home. The relief was instantaneous. She wanted to sprint away like the village was on fire.

"Oi!"

Temari paused mid-step. Her heart stuttered for a millisecond before picking up double time because that voice was Shikamaru's. But the informal tone he used was definitely not meant for the Kazekage. She inhaled deeply. Despite her inner panic she was able to maintain a steely outer appearance.

She would not act the coward.

"What is it?"

Shikamaru almost looked as anxious as she felt inside. The sourness in her tone wasn't enough to fend him off. He drew closer. Subconsciously, Temari realized that Gaara and the rest of their team had already started off towards the gates, leaving the two of them alone.

"Today..." he started then stopped, unable to find the words. She didn't want to hear the same speech he'd made to her brother.

She didn't want him to feel indebted to her. How infuriating could one man be? She wanted him to take a hint!

"What?" she growled, desperate to leave before her true feelings burst unbidden from her mouth.

"Thank you for today." She couldn't even dignify that with a response and huffed instead. To his credit, Shikamaru persisted.

"Next time, how about getting a meal together?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" She hardly had time to process what Shikamaru had said. And her surprise made her question sound blunt.

Was he serious? He had seemed anxious at first but the longer they stood there the more Temari noticed his growing confidence. Her pulse began to flutter and a novel sense of warmth took over her body from the inside.

"Well, yeah, it is that sort of thing." He shot back almost sarcastically.

Yet there was only sincerity in his eyes.

"I see. A date...," she couldn't quite believe her own ears. A week ago he seemed completely indifferent. Temari didn't know what had made him finally notice her but she wasn't about to question it.

"You don't want to?" Shikamaru blurted out uneasily.

Temari fought back a smirk. Right now, she held all the cards and it was only fair that she got to make him a little uncomfortable after all he'd put her through.

She held his gaze, those brown eyes both fearful and hopeful. Her hands sank down to her hips .

"How troublesome," she said teasingly, which a large grin.


	73. Mothers and Daughters

She had dreamt about this very moment back when she was much younger and had wanted nothing more than to have a daughter.

Yoshino never did get a little girl of her own but she loved her son more than anything. However, every now and then, she imagined what life would have been like had she had a daughter.

Braiding hair, shopping for pretty clothes, painting nails, these were things she simply couldn't do with her son.

Though she would never have a girl of her own flesh and blood, fate had brought her the next best thing; a daughter in-law. In many ways they were a perfect match.

She was a young woman without a mother figure and Yoshino had no daughter. Temari had a similar temperament to herself. The young lady was intelligent, polite, and ambitious. It didn't hurt that she was quite lovely to look at as well.

Yoshino was confident that there was no better woman for her son. So, she had gotten her daughter one way or another.

Yoshino had been very moved when Temari came to her and asked if she would come to help her pick out a wedding dress.

She had been secretly hoping the younger girl would ask this of her. Yoshino could still remember shopping for her wedding dress with her own mother.

It was a special, personal, moment. Yoshino didn't know if she could have gotten through that emotional process without her mother. To have Temari ask if she'd join her made Yoshino feel like the girl was further warming up to her, like Temari thought of her as a true mother rather than a mother in-law.

"What do you think about this one?" Temari asked, stepping out of the change room.

So far, the only problem was she looked good in every dress she tried on. Oh, to be young and beautiful. The clear white of the dresses seemed to make her skin glow. Yoshino felt a tug in her chest as she appraised the girl in front of her.

"It's perfect."

The dress was not exactly what a traditional bride in Konoha would wear but Temari wasn't a native. It was not a kimono but it walked a delicate line between her past as a kunoichi of Suna and her future as a Nara. Though more fitted than a kimono the dress was tasteful and completely covered her.

Temari had explained to Yoshino that women in Suna opted for dresses rather than kimonos due to the heat. And though the tree cover in the village gave more than enough protection from the sun, Temari simply couldn't part with the idea of wearing a Sunan style wedding dress.

"Oh, I forgot something." Temari opened the box she had brought to the shop with her. Yoshino had been very curious about it but hadn't asked.

"It was my mother's," Temari explained as she pulled a beautifully ornate veil out from the box.

Yoshino's eyes got a little misty when the girl placed the veil atop her head. She really looked like a bride.

Temari's gaze seemed slightly out of focus as she stared at her reflection. What could she be thinking about as she looked at herself in the mirror? Perhaps it was all sinking in now, that she would be getting married soon, or maybe she was thinking of her mother. Yoshino was surprised when it turned out to be neither.

"Yoshino...have you heard anything from Shikamaru? Like, has he, um, said anything about the wedding?" Temari looked anxious. Her fingers played with the fabric of her skirt restlessly.

Yoshino felt hot anger bubble up inside of her as she thought of her son and what that oblivious, lazy, child of hers must have done to make Temari look so nervous.

"And what is it exactly that I should be punishing him for saying?"

Yoshino made a show of cracking her knuckles, visibly demonstrating that she was on Temari's side. She knew her son was not the most sensitive when it came to women's feelings.

"Well," Temari started but seemed hesitant to carry on.

Yoshino looked the younger woman straight in the eye, daring her to continue, and the words spilled out from her like a waterfall.

"The problem is he hasn't said anything, at least not to me. It's just...this wedding has become such a production. I understand that people see it as a political milestone for our villages but there are so many people coming. We don't even know half of them! We're having strangers at our wedding," she exclaimed incredulously.

"I can't help but wonder if Shikamaru's really okay with all of this. All these diplomats and ambassadors, it's my fault they're coming. He says everything is fine but I'm having a hard time believing that's true. Half the time even I don't know if I'm okay with how things are."

"You're stressed," Yoshino said sympathetically. It was understandable. "This hasn't been easy for you. I know. But try not to worry so much about everything, at the very least, don't worry about Shikamaru. He had to jump through so many hoops just to get approval from both villages' elders. That boy would singlehandedly plan a wedding twice this size if it meant you were the one walking down the aisle."

There wasn't a more delicate way to reassure Temari that her son was absolutely besotted with her without embarrassing him. Yoshino smirked mischievously as she thought of all the things she could tell Temari.

Like when she first suspected he was seeing someone, how he would hum without realizing, or how a small smile would crack his usually disinterested expression when he thought no one was looking.

She could tell Temari exactly how many shades of red her son's face had become when he professed his love and told his mother he was going to ask the girl from Suna to marry him.

No matter how, to steal a word from Shikamaru, _troublesome_ this wedding was, he would go through with it. However, she was a little surprised that he hadn't complained even once. He really was growing up. Or perhaps he could see how anxious Temari was and didn't want to push her nerves any farther.

"He really hasn't said anything?" Temari questioned skeptically.

"I've heard nothing." Yoshino walked towards the girl and readjusted her veil. "And with a bride as beautiful as you, he would be wise to keep his mouth shut." Temari looked guilty for not taking Shikamaru at his word. "When I got married," Yoshino reminisced fondly, "it was as if Shikaku and I were the only ones there. All of those people you're worried about, they won't matter on the day, you'll see."

"Thank you, for coming with me...and for everything." She put on a brave face but Yoshino could see Temari was very close to tearing up. The emotion was clear in her voice. Yoshino pulled her into a warm hug, not wanting Temari to feel self conscious.

"Thank you for agreeing to marry my son."


	74. Turns of Time

It was a cold day. The kind where snow blanketed the ground, icicles dangled from rooftops and people's breaths looked like small clouds.

The village markets were bustling with people all trying to do some last-minute holiday shopping. She had finished buying all her gifts weeks ago. Most people wouldn't be out here, getting pushed around by the anxious crowds like some floundering swimmer being mauled by the tides.

Perhaps it was the solitary nature of her job that made her enjoy being among the masses. Coding could be quite isolating.

So, every year, Shiho went into the markets around the holidays to admire all the shop windows, the sparkling lights, the wrapped parcels tied up with ribbon. Here she was just one in many. She hardly ever ran into anyone she knew.

So when Shiho recognized a familiar face, she didn't want to believe her eyes. Perhaps she had been born under an unlucky star. Just by looking at this individual feelings that she'd pushed down and ignored for years were bubbling back up to her consciousness, demanding to be dealt with.

The muscles in her body were frozen even though her mind was ordering them to move, to do anything other than keep her standing in place like a slack-jawed fool. She must look ridiculous.

So much time had passed since their paths last crossed and, ever since then, Shiho had done everything in her power to keep from running into Temari. When the other girl had started to date her long time Shiho had been heartbroken. And when the two had eventually gotten married it was as if she'd fallen into a pit of despair.

She had spent several days feeling sorry for her own misfortune before finally picking herself back up.

Her reaction had been anything but logical; she knew her feelings had never been returned or even acknowledged.

Though he had never given her any reason to believe otherwise and despite often reminding herself that her admiration meant nothing to him, she couldn't resist torturing herself with delusional '_what ifs_' from time to time. The heart was a greedy thing. Overtime, Shiho had become so practiced at ignoring all things to do with Shikamaru and his wife that she had almost erased their very existence from her mind.

Slowly her feelings for him started to fade away and she began to focus more on her work and life; things she actually had control over. Somehow, even after all her efforts to avoid any sort of confrontation, she found herself in this predicament.

It might be rude, but for the life of her she could not tear her eyes away from the stroller or the tiny baby swaddled inside it.

When had that happened? Where people their age really having children already?

At first glance she couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl. Regardless, the fact that the child bore a striking resemblance to Shikamaru with its dark hair and delicate features didn't lessen the pain in her chest. It was as if reality had just mercilessly backhanded her across the face.

Obviously, there still remained a part of her that continued to live in denial.

Even now, her brain was trying to convince her of the impossible notion that maybe she'd jumped to conclusions, that maybe this baby wasn't Temari's. The odds of that being true were extremely low but the baby didn't exactly look like her.

Standing next to this woman, Shiho had never felt so inferior. Moments ago she had actually been happy. She had felt excited by the prospect of returning to work after the holidays and getting to crack a particularly tough code with her team. But now her life seemed so much less impressive in comparison.

What was she doing now?

She wasn't married. Shiho came home to an empty apartment after work every night. In fact, outside of work, she barely had a life. And she definitely wasn't anywhere close to having children. Temari seemed to have everything together. It took a lot of willpower for Shiho to meet her eyes.

If it was any consolation, Temari looked just as uncomfortable as she felt.

Shiho really wanted to hate her, this woman who had absolutely everything she had ever wanted.

But she couldn't do it. Temari had never done anything that would warrant it.

What right did Shiho have to face Temari when she hadn't even had the guts to tell Shikamaru how she felt? She'd had years to confess but fear had held her in its vice-like grip. None of that mattered now.

"Shiho," Temari said politely in greeting.

Shiho had spent so much time reflecting on the past that she hadn't even thought of what to actually say to Temari. Wishing more than anything to vanish into thin air Shiho found her mouth opening and closing as she struggled with what to say. Whatever passed her lips, she just prayed not to stutter.

"Congratulations." The word left her tongue numb.

She was a little surprised that this was what her brain had come up with. It was the proper thing to say but she didn't honestly mean it.

And that made her feel rotten. Why couldn't she just be happy, at the very least for Shikamaru?

"Thank you." Temari looked down at her baby and smiled.

Shiho needed to get away from here. Every few seconds someone would pass her on the busy street, nearly knocking her down in the process, and all she could think of was how lucky they were to actually be moving. But the idea of turning tail and running also sent a wave of shame through her. She must be strong, show that she had some backbone, for once in her life.

"How old?" Shiho asked with a heavy sense of foreboding in her gut.

She purposely avoided saying he or she. Mothers always seemed to get upset when people wrongly guessed their baby's gender.

Usually a baby was either wrapped in a blue or pink blanket for the sole purpose of visually telling people what they were. Perhaps that didn't matter too much to Temari because her baby was swaddled in a yellow blanket with a hat to match. Shiho was surprised the baby didn't look like it was overheating. Then again, she knew nothing about babies and it was late December.

"He's three months."

So she had given him a son.

The villages had become more progressive in recent years; women could now be clan leaders. But there was still a long history that favoured the birth of male heirs. She had made his clan proud. To make matters worse, Temari herself still looked as beautiful as ever.

Why hadn't she gained weight? Where were the bags under her eyes from getting up every night to tend to a screaming infant? Her eyes, those feline teal eyes which had surely played a large role in seducing her husband, were soft and adoring as she stared down at her son.

"Temari," an achingly familiar voice sounded from behind Shiho. And in spite of itself her heart began to pound wildly. She didn't know if it was the bustle of the street or the chilling cold but she suddenly felt dizzy. '_Whatever you do, don't blush!' _she ordered herself. "You wandered off by yourself again," he scolded. "You're supposed to be careful not to strain yourself. Let me help."

Shikamaru walked right past her. Their shoulders brushed for a split second and, while time seemed to stop for her, he didn't even notice.

It was uncomfortable to watch Shikamaru lean down and talk quietly with another woman. She imagined he was asking her how she felt.

Everything he did confirmed to Shiho what she had always honestly believed; he was a wonderful person, kind and devoted under that guise of nonchalance. She just felt like she was intruding now. Shikamaru took the stroller from Temari and stole a quick peek at his son.

And then, in a moment so drawn out it made her sweat, Shikamaru finally looked at her.

"Oh, Shiho," he sounded uncertain, like he didn't know if it was really her. Did she look any different? She had hoped he'd at least smile at her in greeting.

"Um, hi," she said quietly.

Already the blood was beginning to pool in her cheeks. And it suddenly felt too warm. She couldn't even say his name out loud.

Shiho hadn't believed it was possible but apparently there was something worse than getting stuck in an awkward situation with someone who knew you'd had a huge crush on them. She was living it. Being trapped in conversation with your unrequited love and the mother of his child was infinitely worse.

"I think...I...uh, I need to go. It was good seeing you." Shiho was already turning away before she could finish her sentence.

She walked as fast as she could while still maintaining a little dignity. When she got far enough she stopped to catch her breath.

The icy air burned her throat as she breathed in large gasps. Her face was beetroot red. With shaky hands she brushed away the hair that had fallen into her line of sight. The adrenaline still coursed through her body.

Her feelings were wrong.

After all these years, she shouldn't be reacting like this. This kind of sorrow was reserved for people who had actually been replaced by their lover. And she didn't want to feel this way anymore. She didn't want to act so hopelessly.

The high-pitched cry of an infant made her ears prick; calling out to some buried maternal instinct she hadn't known lay dormant inside her. The sound was gut-wrenching and, not matter how strictly her mind told her not to, she found herself turning around to look.

Through the crowd of shoppers she could still see Shikamaru and Temari. The blonde had already leaned down to pick up her baby.

Together, the two of the fussed over their child, looking every bit the small family they were. Though she couldn't hear it, Shiho was sure Temari was cooing as she swayed back and forth, trying to calm the fussy baby.

They seemed so far away, like they existed in some other reality.

Marriage and children were never things that she had dreamt of. She had been pining over one man for years and years but never thought about what he might want in the future. The longer she watched the more she realized how fanciful her longings had been.

She never would have fit the bill. And it never would have worked out.

For the first time the feelings she'd held deep in her heart started to erode. Shiho suspected there would always be a tiny part of her that would creep up once in awhile and nag her about what would never be.

She could live with that.

The year's end was fast approaching and her resolution was already crystal clear. It wasn't the snowflakes twirling down from above or the holiday spirit that made her feel so content, but rather the sensation of letting go.


	75. Blush

Quick and unbidden a rosy hue would creep up her neck and blossom on the apples of her cheeks.

She prided herself on being hardened but he could make her blush like no other, a fact which gave him great joy. And he was getting extremely good at it, much to Temari's chagrin.

In their early days, the two of them were cautious and shy, tiptoeing around each other. He would get flustered when his friends brought her up in conversation and he would go to great lengths to avoid discussing their tentative relationship.

There were comical misunderstandings, the kind only a true novice on the path to love could make, moments of embarrassment so strong he wanted to disappear and moments of exultation that had him envisioning a future he'd never dreamt of.

It had taken him a long time to see and fully appreciate what had sat right in front of him for years but, once he did, he knew with absolute certainty that she was it. That conviction made it impossible for Shikamaru to be self-conscious around her.

So, with great pleasure, he said how he honestly felt and took her hand in front of others, all the while observing her face turn countless shades of red.

By the time of Naruto and Hinata's wedding, a mere few weeks after his first date with Temari, he didn't care if he made a fool of himself around her. She liked him; he was sure of that. And her constant blushing only emboldened him.

Catching people off guard by being ten steps ahead of them was one of his favourite pastimes. He figured it was only fair that he got to disarm her every once in awhile because she continuously did so to him, albeit unknowingly. What did she expect him to do when she pranced up to him at the reception, perfectly made-up, crisp white blouse and tight black pencil skirt? His mother, had she been in attendance, would have had a heart attack watching him walk hand in hand with Temari throughout the evening.

Gradually, Temari had become more comfortable with standing beside him, though a small quip from one of their friends was enough to make her turn the same colour as the cherry blossoms above. Her brothers thankfully hadn't seemed too perturbed. Kankuro looked more likely to tease Temari about all this later and Gaara only appraised them with naïve curiosity.

Though Shikamaru wasn't arrogant enough to believe he had gotten the green light from the two brothers just yet. He was positive a long and very unnerving conversation would be coming his way in the near future.

Nevertheless, the party carried on into the evening. By the time the sun dipped down past the horizon, most guests had already offered their final congratulations and made their way home.

It was dark and her brothers had already left so he had only done the chivalrous thing by walking her back to where she was staying. Temari made no mention that she was clearly capable of being on her own or that the streets of Konoha post-war were hardly a dangerous place for a jounin of her calibre. The moon shed more than enough light on the roads and the sweet fragrance of cherry blossoms lingered in the evening air. It was picturesque; hardly threatening. But they were simply satisfied with being in each others' company and neither had wanted to part just yet.

"Are you sticking around in Konoha?" he asked hesitantly, not really sure if he was ready to hear the answer. Ambassadorial duties usually kept her in the village for a couple of months at a time. And the shinobi union met, but not often enough for his taste.

"We were actually planning on leaving tomorrow. The paperwork really piles up when all three of us are gone, you know?" she said softly. Temari's gaze was fixed on the ground but it sounded like she wished she could stay.

He found it ironic that in school they were taught to never get close to shinobi from other villages. Even when he was quite young, Shikamaru had thought the lesson was utter nonsense. He had assumed that these teachings were to dissuade friendships and, by doing so, limit the chance that vital security information could get leaked.

Now, he thought, there might have been some truth to the lesson, though not for the reasons he'd been given. Growing up in Konoha, he always had the option to see the people he was close to anytime he wanted. Shikamaru wasn't accustomed to missing friends; they were always near.

Suna was three days away and not seeing Temari brought forth uniquely unpleasant feelings.

"Oh," he couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

How many months would pass before they could meet again? Shikamaru was all for a new generation of shinobi leading the way to a better future but did Suna have to rely so heavily on three people so young?

"You could fake a work emergency here." Temari laughed outright at his proposal.

"And lose the reputation I've worked so hard for, not a chance." Her eyes were aglow as she entertained the impossible.

"It wouldn't be hard to do," he pressed on playfully, "two great minds like us, by the time anyone caught on it'd be too late." Shikamaru was only half serious in his suggestion. To create a fake emergency would be the height of unprofessionalism but it was so tempting.

"As hard as it might be to believe, people in Suna do miss me," she quipped teasingly. _So do the people in Konoha, _he thought. "Besides it won't be too long before I get sent back here. An ambassador's duties are never done," she sighed melodramatically, "look after the citizens of Suna living abroad, protect the prosperity, work for peace and all that good stuff."

For a moment he was speechless. Not for the first time, he was floored by how someone as accomplished and smart and beautiful as Temari could be interested in him, much less be talking to him.

Shikamaru realized he'd gone a bit too long without saying anything when Temari's gaze turned quizzical. And it was then that he started to take note of their surroundings. They were only a block away from where she was staying.

"What?" she asked and turned towards him when he stopped walking.

There were so many things he wanted to say but they all got caught in his throat. He was going to miss her. He already missed her and she was right in front of him. The longer they stood there the faster his heart beat and the dryer his mouth became.

What was he supposed to do? Take her hand? Shikamaru couldn't remember a time when he'd been this anxious.

"What?" Temari laughed nervously, looking at him expectantly.

He swallowed. She was standing so close he could see each fleck of green and blue in her irises. Suddenly, as if she had become privy to his thoughts, she blushed and her gaze flitted down to his lips for a second. That did it.

The indecision he'd had vanished like wispy clouds on a hot day. Hands reaching out to either side of her face, he leaned in to take the kiss that had haunted his dreams for the past few weeks. She returned it so quickly that he didn't even have time to second guess himself for being so abrupt.

Adrenaline coursed through his body. Her hand rested on his shoulder and he thought, as far as first kisses went, this was damn near close to perfect. He had always thought he could settle for someone who simply let him be. A spark had never been necessary, Shikamaru had never desired passion in a relationship but now he wondered how he had been so short-sighted. Temari broke away first with a delicate smile on her face. He quite audibly sighed in relief.

"You just made this ten times harder."

"You just read my mind," he replied without missing a beat.

* * *

_Sorry for the lack of updates - it's exam season - I'm still aiming to get this to 100 chapters_


	76. Lineage

"Exactly how many times has this happened before?"

Temari leaned back in her seat, taken aback by the intensity of this sudden interrogation. Everyone else had left the meeting room already. Maybe it had been a mistake to tell him but Temari had wanted to be honest. She thought Shikamaru was overreacting but was it her who had an unnatural stance on the issue?

Growing up in the family he had, it wasn't too surprising that the matter of assassination wasn't brought up much. Of course now and then children from influential families were taken for ransom, regardless of village. But, she supposed, it's possible that Shikamaru may not even know anyone who has had such an experience.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully.

"How can you not know?" he snapped, dubious of her reply.

Underneath all of this agitation she's sure there's concern somewhere. But why does it feel like she's the one getting a lecture for being the target of an assassination attempt? Obviously, life would be a lot easier if these things stopped happening.

"It started long before I could even remember. But it rarely happens anymore. Honestly, if they had any brains they would have stopped a long time ago. What do they expect to gain from attacking a jounin?"

"Being a skilled fighter doesn't make you invincible," he countered. Fatigue was starting to set into her. This really wasn't a conversation she wanted to get into with him. Temari stared longingly towards the door, eager to make an escape.

"Who are these people anyways?" he continued. Yeah, this was undoubtedly an interrogation.

"I'm not exactly on a first name basis with them." She couldn't help the sass that laced her tone. And Shikamaru looked wildly unimpressed.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm just trying to understand what would give someone enough motivation to attack you here in Konoha. Because if they think that it will be easier to get to you here, where your brothers aren't around, or that you don't have the same security as in the Kazekage's tower..."

"Shikamaru please," she interrupted, rubbing her temples. "I know you want to help. But if you're looking for some kind of logical answer or a way to track down these people then stop while you're ahead because you won't find any."

He didn't understand. She could just tell by his face, which was set in stone. Temari suspected as much.

It simply wasn't in his nature to sit back and accept this kind of harsh reality. She watched him place his hands together in his signature thinking pose.

"There's always some connection," he disagreed.

"It's another disadvantage of being a part of the Kazekage clan," she rationalized. "Suna is basically an aristocracy and my family has been in power for a very, very long time. It's not surprising that some people are angry and have an issue with it. Truthfully, I agree with them to an extent."

"There are less violent ways to bring about democracy," he countered. Temari almost laughed.

"These people are not really the reasonable type and are probably operating on a sixteenth of your brain power," she quipped amusedly. "Shikamaru, you can't snuff these people out, there will always be someone hard-pressed on ending my family line."

This was a fact she'd had years to come to terms with; it was an everyday reality. When she and her brothers were children, assassination attempts were frequent. Sadly, Gaara bore the brunt of them. It was despicable to target a child but the attackers saw a limited window of opportunity. Children were naïve, weak, and much easier to take on than adults.

As the fourth's children grew, most assassins chose not to take the risk. Now, Gaara was nearly indestructible and Kankuro, as a highly skilled shinobi and Gaara's right hand man, was as untouchable. Of course, Temari herself was no easy target but she possessed something neither of her brothers did.

"I've never heard of your brothers dealing with this."

"They have. But now that the war is over and people are starting to seriously consider the future of Suna...some have begun to...um, how would you say...predict how the kazekage line will continue." Temari bit the inside of her cheek, feeling awkward and embarrassed for even bringing this up.

"So you're being targeted because...," Shikamaru trailed off, putting the pieces together as he spoke.

"Because my brothers will most likely be eternal bachelors and never pass down the family name? That seems to be the conclusion most people have reached. I mean, they're still young; one of them could have a kid someday. Though, in all honesty, it doesn't seem likely."

"Oh."

It was the most noncommittal response he could have given. Being tasked with carrying on her family lineage was daunting and made her anxious. Expecting Shikamaru to be anything less than shell-shocked was unrealistic. Perhaps 'oh' was the only appropriate response.

"You'd think those two would step up and take some more responsibility," he commented after a moment of silence.

From his expression Temari could see he was joking. And she was grateful that he hadn't allowed to the mood to turn heavy.

"They're surprisingly irresponsible when it comes to certain things," she laughed in agreement.

Shikamaru sent her a half-smile, the kind which made her heart beat a little louder.

"But seriously Temari," Shikamaru started, his tone suddenly solemn. "This won't happen again. Not here. I'll do what I can but promise me you won't take this so lightly. And please be careful." His eyes beseeched her. With a request so sincere, it was impossible to deny him.

"I promise." She resisted the urge to add that she was always wary of others when she was out. Temari would resist stating the obvious if it made him feel better. "Should I be expecting to see the ANBU following me around town from now on?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed. With his left hand he ruffled her hair, taking advantage of his additional height.

"Don't tempt me troublesome woman."


End file.
